scholarly journals Awareness of COVID-19 among illiterate Population in Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional analysis

Author(s):  
Muhammad Salman ◽  
Zia Ul Mustafa ◽  
Noman Asif ◽  
Naureen Shehzadi ◽  
Tahir Mehmood Khan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: COVIID-19 outbreak has been accompanied by a massive infodemic. However, many vulnerable individuals such as illiterate or low-literate, older adults, and rural populations have limited access to health information. In this context, these individuals are more likely to have poor knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices related to COVID-19. The current study was aimed to investigate COVID-19’s awareness of the illiterate population of Pakistanis. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among illiterate Pakistanis having age ≥ 18 years through a convenient sampling approach. The study participants were interviewed, face to face, by respecting the defined precautionary measures. All data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: The mean age of the study participants’ (N = 394) was 37.2±9.60 years, with the majority of males (80.7%). All participants were aware of the COVID-19 outbreak and television news channels (75.1%) were the primary source of information. The mean knowledge score was 5.33±1.88. About 27% of participants had good knowledge score (score ≥ 7) followed by moderate (score 4-6) and poor (score ≤ 3) knowledge in 41.6%, and 31.5% respondents, respectively. The attitude score was 4.42±1.22 with good (score ≥ 6), average (score 4-5), and poor attitude (score ≤ 3) in 19%, 66%, and 15% participants, respectively. The average practices-related score was 12.80±3.34, with the majority of participants having inadequate practices. Conclusion: COVID-19 knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices of the illiterate population in Pakistan are unsatisfactory. This study highlights the gaps in specific aspects of knowledge and practice that should be addressed through awareness campaigns targeting this specific population.

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Almas Khattak ◽  
Rabia Khattak ◽  
Maria Mufti ◽  
Haseeba Mukhtar

OBJECTIVES: To assess undergraduate medical students’ knowledge of and their attitudes towards primary healthcare and to compare the knowledge and attitudes of students in public and private medical colleges as well as between different demographic groups of students. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted in public and private medical colleges after an ethical approval was granted. Data was collected from 201 undergraduate medical students through a validated (by Chalmers et al. 1997) Primary Health Care Questionnaire (PHCQ) utilizing an online data collection platform of Google Forms. The link to Google Form was distributed via emails and social media links of participating colleges. Data was exported from Google Form into SPSS version 24 and analyzed. RESULTS: The total knowledge score of students ranged from 8 to 17 with the mean knowledge score of 12.62 (SD: 1.398). The total attitude score ranged from 59 to 82 for all the participants with the mean attitude score of 71.12 (SD=4.382). Comparison of knowledge scores showed higher scores in females than males (p=0.004), and significantly higher attitudes scores among private medical students than public (p=0.037). CONCLUSION: Medical students’ gender and setting of their medical studies showed significant influence on their knowledge of and attitudes towards primary healthcare.  


Author(s):  
Elnadi Hager ◽  
Ismail A. Odetokun ◽  
Obasanjo Bolarinwa ◽  
Ahmed Zainab ◽  
Ochulor Okechukwu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed and impacted lives on a global scale since its emergence and spread from China in late 2019. It has caused millions of infections, and thousands of deaths worldwide. However, the control of this pandemic still remains unachievable in many African countries including Egypt and Nigeria, despite the application of some strict preventive and control measures. Therefore, this study assessed the knowledge, attitude and perceptions of Egyptians and Nigerians towards COVID-19 pandemic.A total of 1437 respondents were included in this preliminary cross-sectional survey. The mean knowledge score was 14.7±2.3. The majority of the respondents (61.6%) had a satisfactory knowledge of the disease. Age (18-39 years), education (College/bachelors) and background of respondents were factors influencing knowledge levels. The attitude of most respondents (68.9%) towards the preventive measures was satisfactory with an average attitude score of 6.9 ± 1.2. The majority of the respondents (96%) practiced self-isolation and social-distancing but only 36% follow all health recommendations. The perception of most respondents (62.1%) on the global efforts at controlling the virus and preventing further spread was satisfactory with an average score of 10.9 ± 2.7. A satisfactory knowledge of COVID-19 was significantly associated with good attitude and perceptions (p < 0.001) of respondents. Only 22% of the respondents were satisfied with their country’s handling of the pandemic.It is imperative that to avoid Africa being the next epicenter of the pandemic. Governments need to strengthen health systems, improve their surveillance activities in detecting cases, and effectively apply standard infection prevention and control measures.


Author(s):  
Suresh Kumar ◽  
Kingston Rajiah ◽  
Sajesh Kalkandi Veettil ◽  
Ng Sze Wei

Abstract: The objectives of this study were to determine the knowledge and attitude of adult Malaysians about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), to understand the variation in the knowledge and attitude toward TCM among different demographic groups of adult Malaysian population and to determine the pattern of TCM use among adult Malaysians.: This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey using the convenience sampling method. A total of 400 adult Malaysians were recruited for this study. An interview-administered questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal–Wallis H test were used to analyze the data. The reliability of survey data in this study may affect since closed-ended questions are used.: The more commonly utilized therapy was herbal medicine (n=192, 82.1%), acupuncture (n=79, 33.8%) and oriental massage (n=58, 24.8%). The mean knowledge score and mean attitude score for the respondents were 5.00±1.71 and 7.17±2.10 respectively. There was a significant difference in the mean knowledge score between genders, among TCM users and non-TCM users, people of different education levels and ethnicity.: There were more TCM users than non-TCM users and the use of TCM was higher in females than males. The most popularly used TCM modalities were herbal medicines and acupuncture. Gender, education, ethnicity and use of TCM had a significant effect on adults’ knowledge toward TCM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maha M. AlRasheed ◽  
Hatoon AlAli ◽  
Abdulrahman F. Alsuwaid ◽  
Suhail Khalaf ◽  
Sondus I. Ata ◽  
...  

This study aimed to assess healthcare professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and concerns toward gene therapy in Saudi Arabia. We conducted an online cross-sectional survey via convenience sampling during the period from December 2018 to March 2019. A total of 419 (358 pharmacists and 61 physicians) responded to our questionnaire. Three hundred and nine (73.7%) were male, and the mean (±SD) age of 32.0 ± 7.7 years. The mean knowledge scores of all participants, pharmacists, and physicians were 3.8 ± 1.9, 3.8 ± 1.9, and 3.7 ± 1.9, respectively (P = 0.73). Higher knowledge score was associated with younger age (Coefficient: −0.03; P = 0.02), male (Coefficient: 0.57; P = 0.01), master's degree (Coefficient: 0.93; P = 0.003) and Ph.D. holders (Coefficient: 1.10; P = 0.01), and participants graduated from Canada (Coefficient: 2.10; P = 0.01).Moreover, about half of the respondents (55%) were concerned about gene therapy, and genetics training at college was considered the best gene therapy education method by 69.4%. Attitude score was not significantly associated with the profession (P = 0.88) but positively correlated with the knowledge score (rho= 0.4; P &lt; 0.001). In conclusion, pharmacists and physicians showed limited knowledge with a positive attitude toward gene therapy. Therefore, educational programs on gene therapy need to be considered, focusing primarily on the safety, and social acceptance of such new therapeutic management.


Author(s):  
Satendra Kumar Verma ◽  
D. Sunil Kumar ◽  
Rufia Shaistha Khanum ◽  
Chandan N. ◽  
M. R. Narayanmurthy

Background: COVID-19 is a Public health emergency of international concern which has affected over 213 countries infecting millions across the globe and also affected the economy worldwide. This study was conducted in Healthcare Workers as they are the frontline warriors in fighting this pandemic and their knowledge, attitude and practices towards the disease are valuable.Methods: Online cross sectional study was conducted on Healthcare Workers. A self-administered Google form was used to collect the data through social media. Data was analyzed using MS Excel. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant obtained using SPSS version 22.Results: The mean age among the participants was 30.7±9.9 years. Majority were in the age group of 20-30 years (60.9%), followed by 31-40 years (18.9%), 41.-50 years (9.1%) and >50 years (5.4%). 46.3% of the participants were females and 53.0% were males. 37.1% were doctors, 14.0% are nurses and 46.9% are paramedical staff. In the present study, Mean knowledge score is 5.86±1.32, mean attitude score is 6.48±0.93 and the mean practice score is 4.60±0.79, thus 95.7% of the participants have good knowledge and attitude, where as 90.3% have good practices towards COVID-19.Conclusions: The HCWs of Karnataka have good knowledge, positive attitude and good practices. To further improve their preparedness and response towards infectious diseases and pandemics mandatory training programs can be introduced, as such programs enhances knowledge and boosts confidence among HCWs which is very crucial in medical as well as public health emergencies.


Author(s):  
M.K. Sreelakshmi ◽  
Suneesh Kuruvilla ◽  
Ramanarayanan Subramaniam ◽  
Pooja Latti ◽  
Ramanarayanan Venkitachalam

Abstract Background: Chengannur, a town in the south Indian state of Kerala, was 1 of the worst affected towns during the floods of 2018. Post-flood, Kerala state was under the threat of many infectious diseases including leptospirosis, but did not report any leptospirosis infections. Objectives: This study was conducted with the following objectives: (1) Assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding the prevention of leptospirosis among the flood affected population and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) of Chengannur; and (2) Analyze the factors responsible for and contributing to leptospirosis control in the area post flood. Methodology: A cross-sectional questionnaire based observational study was conducted among 2 groups: the flood affected population, and ASHA. The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts. Part A contained the socio-demographic information. Part B contained questions on assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding the prevention, and control of leptospirosis. Part C was only for the ASHA involved. Results: The final sample size was 331 (244 from the general population and 87 ASHAs). With respect to knowledge, attitude, and practice, the responses were dichotomized into correct and wrong responses. The mean knowledge score was 9.01 ± 1.08 (maximum score of 10), mean attitude score was of 3.61 ± 0.55 (maximum score of 4) and the mean practice score was 4.12 ± 1.05 (maximum score of 5). Conclusion: Knowledge and attitude scores did not significantly differ between the general population and ASHA, but the practice score showed a higher score among the ASHA, all of which could have probably contributed to the prevention of a leptospirosis outbreak in the region.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akash John ◽  
Muhammad Saleem Rana ◽  
Asif Hanif ◽  
Tallat Anwar Faridi ◽  
Sofia Noor ◽  
...  

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a subgroup of retrovirus causing HIV infection which if prolongs turns into a progressive failure of the immune system called as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It is commonly prevalent in Male Transgenders who are born male and disobeys the cultural defined social norms and identify themselves as a female. The objective was to assess knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Transgender Community regarding Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Lahore, Pakistan. A Descriptive Cross-sectional Survey was conducted in Nine Towns of Lahore. A sample size of 79 was calculated and data was collected in duration of 9 months. A self-administered survey-based questionnaire was developed using WHO and National AIDS control Programme guidelines followed and pilot tested. Data was collected after Informed consent.The mean age of Respondents was 29.56 ± 8.27 years with minimum and maximum age as 19 and 50. In this study the mean knowledge score of the transgender about HIV Transmission was 2.804±0.32, the mean score of attitudes of transgender were 3.25±0.19 and the mean practice score was 2.931±0.28.Majority of the transgender have insufficient knowledge, and bad attitude towards their health. They have unsafe sexual practice and Drug Interventions playing a significant role in HIV epidemic. Majority of them are uneducated, unemployed and found sex selling and dancing an easiest way of earning. Their knowledge about HIV screening, transmission, and antiretroviral therapy is low.


Author(s):  
Clement Kevin Edet ◽  
Anthony Ike Wegbom ◽  
Victor Alangibi Kiri

Introduction: The primary healthcare workers (PHCWs) may be faced with a higher risk of infection of COVID-19, due to inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and lack of training on the disease control and prevention. This study was designated to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of PHCWs about COVID-19 in Rivers State, Nigeria. Methods: A facility cross-sectional survey was conducted involving the primary healthcare workers in Rivers State, Nigeria. The association between the KAP and demographic characteristics were tested with the Chi-square test, while the association existing among KAP were evaluated with Pearson correlation coefficient. Statistical significance was evaluated at P<0.05. Results: The proportion of respondents with good scores in knowledge, attitude, and COVID-19 related practices are 86.4% (10.66 ± 2.40), 85.0% (8.28 ± 1.94), and 97.3% (8.34 ± 1.39) respectively. Gender, occupation, and years of experience are associated with knowledge, whilst years of experience and marital status are associated with the attitude and level preventive practices; knowledge score also has significant positive linear associations with both attitude  and practices (  scores towards COVID-19. Conclusion: Based on these findings, we suggest that public health education programs should be sustained, and staff should be expose to more training and workshop regarding COVID-19 preventive practices. Furthermore, adequate personnel preventive equipment should be deployed at the primary healthcare facilities, as this will instill the right attitude and confidence in carrying out their duties without the fear of contracting the disease.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faisal Alnemer ◽  
Raed Aljohani ◽  
Abdulrahman Alajlan ◽  
Mohammad Aljohani ◽  
Ibrahim Alozaib ◽  
...  

The use of topical olive oil (OO) for skin health is common among Saudis and worldwide. Therefore, this cross-sectional study is aimed at assessing the use of topical OO for skin health among Saudis in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was administered to Saudis at four different malls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 401 participants were enrolled in the study. The results showed that the average knowledge score of the participants was 3.4±0.3 (out of 5) and 87% had fair knowledge. The top source of knowledge among the participants was friends/relatives. In the attitude section, the average score was 4.1±0.5 (out of 5). Females had a higher attitude score 4.2±0.5 as compared to males 4±0.5 (P=0.03). The most common reason for using topical OO among the participants was skin moisturizing (73%). Female gender was the only significant factor associated with the use of topical OO (P < 0.001). The use of topical OO for skin health is highly prevalent in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Therefore, more awareness of the benefits and adverse effects of topical OO use is required especially from health educational organizations. The preliminary results of this study suggest further research with a larger sample in an academic setting across the nation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (05) ◽  
pp. 772-777
Author(s):  
Ramesh Lal ◽  
Vikram Pal ◽  
Suneel Kumar Punjabi ◽  
Naveen Khawaja ◽  
Mehwish Shoro

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge andpractice of informed consent among dental practitioners in Hyderabad city, Pakistan. StudyDesign: Descriptive cross sectional survey. Setting: Liaquat University of Medical and HealthSciences, Isra University and Dental practitioners working at private Dental clinics in Hyderabadcity. Period: This study was conducted over period of six months from November 2015 toApril 2016. Material and Method: This study used self-administered structured questionnaire,consist of ten questions to assess the knowledge and practice of dental practitioners towardsinformed consent. Data was collected by visiting offices of the study participants at their workplace or through email and courier with prepaid envelope where needed. The participants weresent two reminders at the interval of fifteen days to return the filled survey form. The responseswere represented in form of percentages. The t-test was used to determine the associationbetween the knowledge and qualification, clinical experience, and age. A significance level ofp<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Our response rate was 86% (103).Majority of the dentist merely knows the meaning of informed consent and overall had poorknowledge (mean score 7.84 + 2.44). The analysis showed that years of clinical practice andqualification was statistically significant with mean knowledge score (p < 0.01). The verbal formof consent was most preferred method of obtaining informed consent that accounted for 82%of study participants. 89% of dentist obtained informed consent from parents when treatingtheir children. Conclusions: From this study, it can be concluded that vast majority of dentistare unaware of informed consent process and their basic requirement. Although majority ofdentist believe that informed consent play an important role in routine dental practice yet manyof them did not use written form of informed consent. Our results would help the educatorsand policy makers to develop educational instruction on bioethics with special emphasis oninformed consent.


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