Knowledge, attitude, and practices toward COVID-19 among rural people during the pandemic in India: A community survey

ABSTRACT

Background: Knowledge, attitude, and practices of the Indian population toward the transmission and prevention of COVID-19 diseases play a vital role in effective control measures. Objective: In this study, we assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practices toward COVID-19 among rural people in Tamil Nadu, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a semistructured interview schedule, with face validated and translated into the local language after pilot testing, was used to collect the data. An information sheet was provided to the participants in the local language (Tamil), and verbal consent was obtained before starting the interview. Ethical approval was granted by the institutional ethics committee. Results: A total of 762 participants were interviewed, with the average age of participants being 42.59 years (standard deviation ± 16.8). Around 37% of participants did not receive any formal education;among working people, most of them were involved in agriculture and unskilled labor works. The knowledge related to disease transmission was poor, only 50% of the people knew that virus can spread through droplets and close contact with the infected people, and only 11.4% said that the virus can spread when people get in contact with a contaminated surface. Around 85% of the people said that naturopathy home remedies can help prevent COVID-19 severity. The preventive practices scores were poor, only 11% of the people wore the mask, and educational status was the significant predictor of positive practices scores. Conclusion: The government can develop health educational programs tailored to rural communities to promote the practices and also can implement legal measures to promote the practices among the people. © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.