Knowledge and practices among selected malaysian adults towards covid-19: A web-based cross-sectional survey

ABSTRACT

Background: COVID-19 i s an emergi ng i nfecti ous di sease caused by a novel Severe Acute Respi ratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In Malaysia, first few cases of COVID-19 were detected in January 2020, among Chinese nationals and the cases keep increasing day by day. Method(s) This self-administered web based cross sectional study using Google forms was conducted among 400 Malaysian adults to explore their level of knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19, as well as factors associated with the variables. Descriptive and binary logistic regression were performed using SPSS version 22. Result(s) Knowledge and practice among Malaysian adults towards COVID-19 were low. Gender (p = 0.030, OR0.616, 95% CI 0.398-0.955) and occupation (p = 0.002, OR2.489, 95% CI 1.485-4.172) were found as significant predictors of practice towards COVID-19. Conclusion(s) In conclusion, proper mass public health messages should be conducted by the higher authorities to improve knowledge and practice towards COVID-19. Copyright © 2020 Japan Health Sciences University & Japan International Cultural Exchange Foundation.