Brazilians' level of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Brazil is facing increasing cycles of numbers of infected people and deaths resulting from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This situation involves a series of factors, including the behavior of the population, that can be decisive for controlling the disease. OBJECTIVE: To determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the Brazilian population regarding COVID-19. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional survey-type study, conducted using a population sample from different Brazilian states. METHODS: A quantitative, descriptive and analytical approach was used. Sampling was done according to convenience and via snowballing. The data collection instrument was a knowledge, attitudes and practices system. RESULTS: 1,655 people from all over Brazil participated in the survey; 80% were living in the southern region and 70.15% were female. More than 90% had knowledge and good attitudes relating to the means of transmission, preventive care and symptoms associated with COVID-19, although their knowledge and attitudes were not fully reflected in daily practices, for which there was lower adherence (80%). Greater knowledge was correlated with older participants, larger number of children, female sex and marital status; better attitude, with female sex and complete higher education; and better practices, with greater age, larger number of children and female sex. CONCLUSION: A large part of the population has general knowledge about COVID-19, but not all knowledge was applied in practice. Older people, females and university graduates stood out as the best informed and most committed to controlling the disease.

Exploring the association between dental caries, obesity and sensory characteristics in students living in southern Brazil

Objective: to investigate possible associations between dental caries, obesity, sweet taste preference and sensitivity to bitter taste in children and adolescents. Material and Methods: this is a cross-sectional study with a sample of 462 schoolchildren aged 6-15 years enrolled in public schools of Pato Branco, PR. Their oral conditions were examined by adopting the criteria of the World Health Organization. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric criteria, adopting the reference standards of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. To determine the taste sensitivity, sweet taste preference and sensitivity tophenylthiocarbamide (PTC) tests were applied. In the statistical analysis of data, Chi-square, Mann Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests were used, adopting significance level of 5%. Results: low dental caries severity levels were observed among students. Overweight was diagnosed in 24.4% of students. The lowest DMFT index was recorded among obese individuals (p <0.05). High levels of sweet taste preference were identified. No statistically significant association was detected between the sensory characteristics assessed and the occurrence of dental caries and obesity in the study sample. Conclusion: the high levels of sweet taste preference, as well as the dental caries and overweight rates observed, although with no statistically significant associations, highlight the need or intersectoral interventions with a focus on healthy eating habits in order to reduce the risk and incidence of chronic diseases in this population.