Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards COVID-19 prevention among malaysian adults during the period of movement control order (mco): An online cross-sectional survey

ABSTRACT

Malaysian government started the Movement Control Order (MCO) on 18th March 2020, as one of the initiatives to prevent the more massive outbreak of COVID-19. Recent statistics showed a rapid rise in the numbers of positive COVID-19 patients. However, the statistics on COVID-19 patients being discharged showed that the higher authority was very committed in managing COVID-19 crisis. This online study was conducted among 1,543 Malaysian adults using a validated questionnaire to explore more findings on the Malaysian’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) level towards COVID-19 prevention during the MCO period. Descriptive study and binary logistic regression were performed using SPSS version 22. This study showed that the majority of respondents have good KAP level regarding COVID-19 pre-vention. WhatsApp and Telegram were the primary sources of information used by the respondents. Education level was the main predictor for knowledge (OR 2.083, CI 1.605-2.702), attitude (OR1.854, Ci;1.42-2.42) and practice (OR 1.745, CI;1.326-2.096) regarding COVID-19 prevention (p<0.001). Knowledge (OR;1.636, CI 1.302-2.054) and practice (OR;2.328, CI 1.858-2.916) were predictors of attitude regarding COVID-19 prevention (p<0.001). In conclusion, total adherence to the Movement Control Order (MCO) along with public health interventions focusing on behavioral change may play vital roles in breaking the chain of infection.