ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a global threat. This study was performed to gain an understanding of COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices among susceptible individuals. MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients who had been diagnosed with old myocardial infarction were followed up via telephone survey based on an established follow-up system at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak (January 2020) in Chongqing, Southwest China. RESULTS A total of 631 eligible patients participated in this survey, and 40.6% of the rural respondents did not know the transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2, which was higher than the proportion of urban respondents (40.6% vs 31.0). Rural residents had a lower rate of adopting preventive measures than urban residents, such as wearing masks (76.7% vs 90.1%), avoiding meetings and gatherings (58.6% vs 68.5%), and hand washing (56.0% vs 63.8%). A higher percentage of women than men did not take any preventive measures (11.3% vs 7.6%), while a lower percentage of women than men wore masks (77.7% vs 84.5%). Multiple logistic regression revealed that rural patients were more likely to lack knowledge about transmission (odds ratio (OR): 1.51). Rural patients had an increased risk of failing to implement protective measures. CONCLUSIONS Female and rural populations lacked knowledge and failed to adopt protective measures during the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. Therefore, these populations may benefit from health education campaigns and policies.