Mohamed M Abdel-Daim 1,2 , Abdelrahman I Abushouk 3 , Ahmed Taher Masoud 4 , Mohamed Sayed Zaazouee 5 , Sarah Makram Elsayed 6 , Khaled Mohamed Ragab 7 , Esraa M Kamal 4 , Yusra T Alnasser 8 , Ahmed Assar 9 , Anas Z Nourelden 10 , Loai J Istatiah 4 , Mohamed M Abd-Elgawad 4 , Ahmed T Abdelsattar 4 , Ahmed A Sofy 4 , Doaa G Hegazy 11 , Victor Z Femía 12 , Adriana R Mendonça 12 , Fatma M Sayed 4 , Ahmed Elmoursi 13 , Alaa Alareidi 14 , Ahmed K Abd-Eltawab 4 , Mohamed Abdelmonem 4 , Omar M Mohammed 4 , EzzEldeen A Derballa 4 , Kareem A El-Fas 15 Show Affiliations »
Abstract
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. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
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. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Entities: Chemical
Disease
Gene
Species
Keywords:
epidemiology; public health; virology
Year: 2021
PMID： 33622949 DOI： 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043971
Source DB: PubMed Journal: BMJ Open ISSN： 2044-6055 Impact factor: 2.692