Knowledge, attitude, and practices toward the COVID-19 pandemic among the indian general population: A cross-sectional survey

ABSTRACT

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease is highly infectious, and fever, dry cough, fatigue, myalgia, and dyspnea are the main clinical symptoms of the disease. There is a necessity to understand the public's awareness of COVID-19 to facilitate the outbreak management of COVID-19 in India. Collection of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) information regarding outbreaks has long been useful in apprising prevention, control, and mitigation measures during such outbreaks. Objectives: The study objective was to evaluate knowledge levels, prevailing attitudes, and practices among the general population of India about the COVID-19 pandemic and to rule out barriers concerned with practicing risk reduction behaviors. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted online among the general population of India during the lockdown period. The KAP toward COVID-19/severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection and prevention were assessed by using a self-administered questionnaire with 32 questions. The KAP assessment was carried out by assigning scores to the variables. SPSS version 24.0 and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 1292 people had participated in the survey, and their mean age was 29.43 years. Overall, 81% of the participants had good knowledge, 77% of the participants had a positive attitude, and 83.5% of the participants were following good practices. Nearly 94% of the participants are confident that India can overcome COVID-19, and 97.7% of the participants wore masks when they went out. Conclusion: Health education campaigns and awareness events targeting the general population can enhance knowledge and attitudes of the people to the pandemic and potentiate better practices in facing the crisis.