ABSTRACT
Aim: This study investigated the knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 in Bangladeshi adults by online and phone survey methods during the early stage of its spread. Methods: Data were collected through phone calls (April 14-23, 2020) and online survey (April 18-19, 2020) in Bangladesh. The questionnaire had 20 knowledge questions with each correct response getting one point and incorrect/don’t know response getting no point (maximum total knowledge score 20). Participants scoring >17 were categorized as having good knowledge. Results: The percentages of good knowledge holders were 57.6%, 75.1%, and 95.8% in the phone, online non-medical, and online medical participants, respectively. Most of the phone and online participants had good knowledge of the preventive practices of COVID-19. However, among the non-medical participants (both phone and online), the correct response rates were lower than 80% for the knowledge questions asking about the facts that - some patients may have no symptoms, diarrhea is a symptom of this disease and that it cannot be prevented by any currently available medication. Male gender, higher education, living in town/urban areas, good financial condition, and use of internet were positively associated with higher knowledge score among the non-medical participants. However, higher knowledge score was associated with having less confidence in the final control of COVID-19. Conclusion: Our study identified some COVID-19 information that were less known among the participants and the potential factors that were associated with having good versus poor knowledge. Besides, this study sheds light on the attitude of Bangladeshi adults towards COVID-19.