Knowledge attitude and practices regarding mask usage during COVID-19 pandemic in general population of India: a qualitative study

Authors

  • Bhawna Sayare Department of Public Health Dentistry, HP Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Vinay K. Bhardwaj Department of Public Health Dentistry, HP Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Shailee Fotedar Department of Public Health Dentistry, HP Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Shelja Vashisth Department of Public Health Dentistry, HP Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Arun S. Thakur Department of Public Health Dentistry, HP Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Saurabh K. Rawat Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Apex Trauma Centre, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • Deepak Gurung Department of Public Health Dentistry, HP Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20211245

Keywords:

COVID-19 pandemic, Facemasks, N95 masks, SARS-CoV-2, Surgical mask

Abstract

Background: Facemasks are recommended to control the COVID-19 pandemic transmission. This study was conducted with a purpose to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practices among general population regarding the usage of facemask during COVID-19 pandemic to limit the spread of the corona virus disease.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted through Google forms. Questionnaire consisted of 7, 3 and 5 questions on knowledge, attitude and practices respectively. Questionnaire was shared on social media. Score of 1 was assigned to correct response and score of 0 for incorrect response, thus making a maximum score of 7 for a subject. Accordingly, score was <3 depicts individual had poor knowledge. 3-5 and >5 had good and excellent knowledge respectively.

Results: Out of total 500 participants, we had 242 (48.4%) males and 258 (51.6%) females. The age of participants ranged from 20 to 60 years. Majority of participants (25.2%) were from Kerala State. Almost 97.6% reported that it was necessary to wear mask in current situation. The overall mean knowledge score was 5. The mean knowledge score was higher among females (5.07%) as compared to males (4.93%) and the difference was statistically significant. When they were asked if they know the correct steps of wearing a mask, almost 82.5% reported “yes” but while asking for coverage of mask on face only 75% were aware of it correctly.

Conclusions: The overall knowledge of our study population was good. The knowledge was excellent for the age group of 20–30 and post-graduates.

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Published

2021-03-25

How to Cite

Sayare, B., Bhardwaj, V. K., Fotedar, S., Vashisth, S., Thakur, A. S., Rawat, S. K., & Gurung, D. (2021). Knowledge attitude and practices regarding mask usage during COVID-19 pandemic in general population of India: a qualitative study. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 8(4), 1857–1862. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20211245

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Original Research Articles