Knowledge, attitudes, practice of people toward the COVID-19 pandemics, and its impact in Afghanistan.

COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the social and economic norms. Knowledge, Attitude and Practices studies are used to address the information gap for further strategic decision making to control the pandemic. This study aimed to find the level of Knowledge, Awareness, Attitudes, and behavioral practices of the people of Afghanistan about the COVID-19 and its impact on health and socio-economic dimension of their routine lives. We used a cross-sectional method with two stage sampling design. Data analysis was performed using SPSS v.20. The survey focused on adults including men and women all over the country to represent the country, including the urban and rural areas. Most of the respondents are in the age group of 21-30 years (46.5%); 60.15% of the participants are married. Almost 75% of females and 84% of males were literate and most participants have a bachelor's degree (34%). More than 80% of participants knew they can prevent themselves from contacting COVID-19 through hand washing frequently with soap and water and wearing a mask. More than 80% of participants responded that they would go for a lab test for detection of the virus as well as COVID-19 vaccination if it is available. Almost 35% reported always wearing a mask to prevent COVID-19 transmission; more than half of participants always wash their hands, more than 60% of them do not touch their eyes, nose, and mouth frequently. Nearly 60% of participants indicated that their household had problems satisfying food needs partly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly half of participants believed that the government was successful in applying lockdown measures and in awareness rising (56.8 and 69.8%). The study findings provide some useful insight about the KAP of communities in Afghanistan, which could assist policy makers in public health to design and implement interventions based on the information gaps reported.

Knowledge, attitudes, practice of people toward the COVID-19 pandemics, and its impact in Afghanistan

COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the social and economic norms. Knowledge, Attitude and Practices studies are used to address the information gap for further strategic decision making to control the pandemic. This study aimed to find the level of Knowledge, Awareness, Attitudes, and behavioral practices of the people of Afghanistan about the COVID-19 and its impact on health and socio-economic dimension of their routine lives. We used a cross-sectional method with two stage sampling design. Data analysis was performed using SPSS v.20. The survey focused on adults including men and women all over the country to represent the country, including the urban and rural areas. Most of the respondents are in the age group of 21–30 years (46.5%);60.15% of the participants are married. Almost 75% of females and 84% of males were literate and most participants have a bachelor's degree (34%). More than 80% of participants knew they can prevent themselves from contacting COVID-19 through hand washing frequently with soap and water and wearing a mask. More than 80% of participants responded that they would go for a lab test for detection of the virus as well as COVID-19 vaccination if it is available. Almost 35% reported always wearing a mask to prevent COVID-19 transmission;more than half of participants always wash their hands, more than 60% of them do not touch their eyes, nose, and mouth frequently. Nearly 60% of participants indicated that their household had problems satisfying food needs partly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly half of participants believed that the government was successful in applying lockdown measures and in awareness rising (56.8 and 69.8%). The study findings provide some useful insight about the KAP of communities in Afghanistan, which could assist policy makers in public health to design and implement interventions based on the information gaps reported.

Public health workers' knowledge, attitude and practice regarding COVID-19: the impact of Field Epidemiology Training Program in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding COVID-19 between public health workers (PHWs) attended field epidemiology training program (FETP-trained) and those who did not attend FETP (non-FETP trained). METHODS: Multi-country cross-sectional survey was conducted among PHWs who participated in COVID-19 pandemic in 10 countries at EMR. Online questionnaire that included demographic information, KAP regarding COVID-19 pandemic was distributed among HCWs. Scoring system was used to quantify the answers, bivariate and Multivariate analysis performed to compare FETP-trained with non-FETP trained PHWs. RESULTS: Overall, 1337 PHWs participated, with 835 (62.4%) < 40 years of age, and 851 (63.6%) males. Of them, 423 (31.6%) had FETP, including that 189 (44.7%) had advanced level, 155 (36.6%) intermediate and 79 (18.7%) basic level training. Compared with non-FETP trained, FETP trained were older, having higher KAP scores. FETP participation was low in infection control, and PH laboratories. KAP mean scores for intermediate level attendees are comparable to advanced level. CONCLUSIONS: FETP-trained are having better KAP than non-FETP PHWs. Expanding the intermediate level, maintain the Rapid Response training and introduce the laboratory component are recommended to maximize the benefit from FETP. Infection control, antimicrobial resistance and coordination are areas where training should include.