Email this article Is COVID-19 a hoax? Correlation between beliefs related to COVID-19 and the use of preventive measures in India
Abstract
Background: Following the personal protective and preventive measures are vital to the control and prevention of transmission. The populations’ beliefs and attitude related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have a direct impact on their practice of preventive measures. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the beliefs, attitude and preventive practices related to COVID-19 among the general population of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Methods: An online questionnaire with 12 questions concerning the beliefs, attitude and practice of preventive measures related to COVID-19 was distributed via social platforms. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software (version 21, IBM Corporation, Texas, USA). Bivariate analysis (Chi-square test) was used to assess the association between independent variables with each of the main outcomes of interest.
Results: A total of 256 study subjects participated in this survey. About 69.9% believed in the existence of corona virus and >85% followed the government protocols. Social distancing and Frequent hand washing was chosen by majority of the study subjects (55.5% and 78.5% respectively) as the most effective measure to prevent viral transmission. Nearly 81.7% always wore a mask in public and 27.0% always kept >6 feet distance apart from others.
Conclusions: The surveyed population has an acceptable level of positive beliefs, attitude, and good practices towards COVID-19. We recommend that emphasis should be placed on educating people belonging to lower education and income strata. Vulnerable populations who require proper health education and guidance for prevention and control of COVID-19 should be targeted.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Taubenberger JK, Morens DM. 1918 Influenza: the Mother of All Pandemics. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12(1):15-22.
Ali I, Alharbi OML. COVID-19: Disease, management, treatment, and social impact. Sci Total Environ. 2020;728:138861.
Bavel JJV, Baicker K, Boggio PS, Capraro V, Cichocka A, Cikara M, et al. Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nature Human Behaviour. 2020;4(5):460-71.
van Prooijen J-W, Douglas KM. Conspiracy theories as part of history: The role of societal crisis situations. Memory Studies. 2017;10(3):323-33.
Imhoff R, Lamberty P. A Bioweapon or a Hoax? The Link Between Distinct Conspiracy Beliefs About the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak and Pandemic Behavior. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2020;11(8):1110-8.
Czeisler MÉ, Tynan MA, Howard ME, Honeycutt S, Fulmer EB, Kidder DP, et al. Public Attitudes, Behaviors, and Beliefs Related to COVID-19, Stay-at-Home Orders, Nonessential Business Closures, and Public Health Guidance — United States, New York City, and Los Angeles, May 5–12, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(24):751-8.
Abdelhafiz AS, Mohammed Z, Ibrahim ME, Ziady HH, Alorabi M, Ayyad M, et al. Knowledge, Perceptions, and Attitude of Egyptians Towards the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). J Community Health. 2020;1-10.
Erfani A, Shahriarirad R, Ranjbar K, Moghadami M. Title: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice toward the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak: A Population-Based Survey in Iran.2020;23.
Pandey S, Gupta A, Bhansali R, Katira P, Fernandes G. Corona Virus (COVID-19) Awareness Assessment - A Survey Study Amongst the Indian Population. J Clin Med Res [Internet]. https://maplespub.com/article/Corona-Virus-COVID-19-Awareness-Assessment-A-Survey-Study-Amongst-the-Indian-Population. Accessed on 28th March 2020.
Tomar BS, Singh P, Suman S, Raj P, Nathiya D, Tripathi S, et al. Indian community’s Knowledge, Attitude & Practice towards COVID-19. MedRxiv. 2020;4769-73.
Ferdous MostZ, Islam MdS, Sikder MdT, Mosaddek ASMd, Zegarra-Valdivia JA, Gozal D. Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh: An online-based cross-sectional study. Gańczak M, editor. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(10):e0239254.
Gupta P, Gupta A, Dixit S, Kumar H. Knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding COVID-19: A cross-sectional study among rural population in a northern Indian District. J Family Med Prim Care. 2020;9(9):4769.
Maheshwari S, Gupta P, Sinha R, Rawat P. Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among medical students: A cross-sectional study. J Acute Dis. 2020;9(3):100.
Roy D, Tripathy S, Kar SK, Sharma N, Verma SK, Kaushal V. Study of knowledge, attitude, anxiety & perceived mental healthcare need in Indian population during COVID-19 pandemic. Asian J Psychiatr. 2020;51:1020-83.
Zhong B-L, Luo W, Li H-M, Zhang Q-Q, Liu X-G, Li W-T, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey. Int J Biol Sci. 2020;16(10):1745-52.
ALdowyan N, Abdallah AS, El-Gharabawy R. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) Study about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) among Population in Saudi Arabia. International Archives of Medicine. 2017;10.
Leung GM, Lam T-H, Ho L-M, Ho S-Y, Chan BHY, Wong IOL, et al. The impact of community psychological responses on outbreak control for severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2003;57(11):857-63.
Moran KR, Valle SYD. A Meta-Analysis of the Association between Gender and Protective Behaviors in Response to Respiratory Epidemics and Pandemics. PLOS ONE. 2016;11(10):e0164541.
Afzal MS, Khan A, Qureshi UUR, Saleem S, Saqib MAN, Shabbir RMK, et al. Community-Based Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, Practices and Risk Factors Regarding COVID-19 Among Pakistanis Residents During a Recent Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Survey. J Community Health. 2020;1-11.
Lau LL, Hung N, Go DJ, Ferma J, Choi M, Dodd W, et al. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of COVID-19 among income-poor households in the Philippines: A cross-sectional study. J Glob Health. 2020;10(1):011007.
Papagiannis D, Malli F, Raptis DG, Papathanasiou IV, Fradelos EC, Daniil Z, et al. Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) of Health Care Professionals in Greece before the Outbreak Period. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(14).
Gao H, Hu R, Yin L, Yuan X, Tang H, Luo L, et al. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of the Chinese public with respect to coronavirus disease (COVID-19): an online cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):1816.
Lee M, You M. Psychological and Behavioral Responses in South Korea During the Early Stages of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(9).
Wong CL, Chen J, Chow KM, Law BMH, Chan DNS, So WKW, et al. Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Towards COVID-19 Amongst Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong. Int J Environ Res Public Health [Internet]. 2020;17(21).
