BMJ Open (Feb 2021)

KAP-COVIDGLOBAL: a multinational survey of the levels and determinants of public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19

  • Ahmed Taher Masoud,
  • Mohamed Sayed Zaazouee,
  • Sarah Makram Elsayed,
  • Khaled Mohamed Ragab,
  • Esraa M Kamal,
  • Yusra T Alnasser,
  • Ahmed Assar,
  • Anas Z Nourelden,
  • Loai J Istatiah,
  • Mohamed M Abd-Elgawad,
  • Ahmed T Abdelsattar,
  • Ahmed A Sofy,
  • Doaa G Hegazy,
  • Victor Z Femía,
  • Adriana R Mendonça,
  • Fatma M Sayed,
  • Ahmed Elmoursi,
  • Alaa Alareidi,
  • Ahmed K Abd-Eltawab,
  • Mohamed Abdelmonem,
  • Omar M Mohammed,
  • EzzEldeen A Derballa,
  • Kareem A El-Fas,
  • Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim,
  • Abdelrahman I. Abushouk

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043971
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 2

Abstract

Read online

Objective The adherence to public health recommendations to control COVID-19 spread is influenced by public knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP). We performed this cross-sectional study to assess the levels and determinants of public KAP towards COVID-19 in a large, multinational sample.Design Cross-sectional study (survey).Setting The questionnaire was distributed to potential respondents via online platforms.Participants 71 890 individuals from 22 countries.Methods We formulated a four-section questionnaire in English, followed by validation and translation into seven languages. The questionnaire was distributed (May to June 2020) and each participant received a score for each KAP section.Results Overall, the participants had fair knowledge (mean score: 19.24±3.59) and attitudes (3.72±2.31) and good practices (12.12±1.83) regarding COVID-19. About 92% reported moderate to high compliance with national lockdown. However, significant gaps were observed: only 68.2% knew that infected individuals may be asymptomatic; 45.4% believed that antibiotics are an effective treatment; and 55.4% stated that a vaccine has been developed (at the time of data collection). 71.9% believed or were uncertain that COVID-19 is a global conspiracy; 36.8% and 51% were afraid of contacting doctors and Chinese people, respectively. Further, 66.4% reported the pandemic had moderate to high negative effects on their mental health. Female gender, higher education and urban residents had significantly (p≤0.001) higher knowledge and practice scores. Further, we observed significant correlations between all KAP scores.Conclusions Although the public have fair/good knowledge and practices regarding COVID-19, significant gaps should be addressed. Future awareness efforts should target less advantaged groups and future studies should develop new strategies to tackle COVID-19 negative mental health effects.