Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and willingness for vaccination among frontline police personnel in Mumbai, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20221229Keywords:
COVID-19 vaccination, Police personnel, Knowledge, AttitudeAbstract
Background: The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding COVID-19 appropriate behaviors and vaccination acceptance among police personnel in Mumbai, India, January 2021.
Methods: A total of 3232 police personnel volunteered for the survey were administered a validated questionnaire. All questionnaires were administered over a five-day period, after an informed consent. The questions were designed to elicit the following details: demographic information, underlying disease conditions with routine medications, whether they had contracted COVID-19 in the past, along with knowledge, attitudes and perspectives regarding COVID-19 along with their own practices including willingness to accept vaccination when made available.
Results: A total of 3232 police personnel participated in the study. Of these, 2602 (80.5%) were males and 630 (19.5%) were females. The participation reflected the composition of police personnel working in Mumbai. Overall, 2936 (99.6%) study participants had adequate knowledge level (≥6 out of 10 score). Knowledge levels were significantly higher among officers, males and older adults than non-officers, females and young adults respectively. The personnel involved in hot-spot duties, those with underlying medical conditions, diagnosed with COVID in the past, hospitalized for COVID along with those who subjected themselves for RT-PCR and antibody testing had higher knowledge levels.
Conclusions: The police personnel in Mumbai, India, reported very high levels of knowledge, favourable attitudes and very good compliance on recommended practices about COVID-19 during the raging pandemic, even during the decline phase after the first wave. This signifies their seriousness about the dreaded disease and commitment to help the community in controlling the pandemic and its impact.
References
Kumar SU, Kumar DT, Christopher BP, Doss CGP. The rise and impact of COVID-19 in India. Front Med. 2020;7:250
Jabaris SSL, V A. The current situation of COVID-19 in India. Brain Behav Immun Health. 2021;11:100200.
Bhuyan A. Experts criticise India's complacency over COVID-19. Lancet. 2021;397(10285):1611-1612.
Oxygen crisis. Available at: https://www.indiatoday .in/india-today-insight/story/india-s-oxygen-crisis-what-needs-to-be-done-1800584-2021-05-09. Assessed on 22June 2021.
Rubin EJ, Baden LR, Udwadia ZF, Morrissey S. Audio Interview: India's Covid-19 Crisis. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(18):e84.
COVID-19. Available at: https://pib.gov.in/Press ReleaseIframePage.aspx. Assessed on 20June 2021.
Bhartiya S, Kumar N, Singh T, Murugan S, Rajavel S, Wadhwani M. Knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19 vaccination acceptance in West India. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2021;8:1170-6.
Kulkarni S. Covid‐19 cases in Maharashtra Police cross 2,000. Available at :https://indianexpress.com/ article/cities/pune/covid‐19‐cases‐in‐maharashtra‐police‐cross‐2000‐6432021/.Assessed on 20 June 2021.
Vaccination update. Available at: https://www. freepressjournal.in/mumbai/covid-19-in-mumbai11-mumbai-police-personnelsuccumbtocovid-19. Assessed on 18June 2021.
Murhekar MV, Bhatnagar T, Selvaraju S, Saravanakumar V, Thangaraj JWV, Shah N, et al SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in India, August–September, 2020: findings from the second nationwide household serosurvey. Lancet Global Health. 2021;9(3):e257-66.
Naresh DS, Aarti AK, Kulkarni R, Valvi C, Rajput UC, Dawre R, et al. Knowledge, attitude, and practices among police force toward covid-19 pandemic during Lockdown in Pune, India - An Online cross-selctional survey. Med J DY Patil Vidyapeeth. 2021;14:327-32.
Kokane PP, Maurya P, Muhammad T. Understanding the incidence of COVID -19 qamong the police force in Maharashtra through a mixed approach. MedRxiv 2020;06:14-9.
AlRasheed MM, Alsugair AM, Almarzouqi HF, Alonazi GK, Aleanizy FS, Alqahtani FY, et al. Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice of security and safety workers toward the covid-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study. Front Public Health. 2020;9:6317-19.
Van de Mortel TF. Faking it: social desirability response bias in self-report research. Aust J Adv Nurs. 2008;25(4):40-8.
Kimberlin CL, Winterstein AG. Validity and reliability of measurement instruments used in research. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2008;65(23):2276-84.
