Risk Perceptions, Attitude and Preventive Practices of Egyptians towards COVID-19

Abstract Background: COVID-19 is the latest global pandemic. To date, no antiviral treatment or vaccine has been explicitly recommended for it. Therefore, applying preventive measures to control its spread is the most critical intervention. Perceived risk and attitude determines population’s reaction.Objectives: study perceptions, attitude and practices towards COVID-19 among EgyptiansMethods: The study was cross-sectional using a snowball nonrandom sample from public population of Egyptian Community. They were asked to fulfill predesigned online questionnaire that was available from 16th to 24th March 2020.Results: The study included 1663 participants from all governorates of Egypt. More than half were at age group 21-30 years, 64.3% females and 85.1% students. Main source of information was social media (46.4%). Most of Participants had positive attitude and moderate degree of fear. Only 25.4% of students satisfied with distance learning, 41.4% of participants believe that they are susceptible to infection and 61% believe in seriousness of the disease. About half of participants reported that they follow preventive precautions. Majority of participants (81.3%) believe in effectiveness of these precautions. Participant’s practices were relatively satisfactory except for wearing protective masks, movement of families outside home, reducing touch of nose and eyes, and getting enough sleeping hours. Binary logistic regression identified that significant predictors of good practice were female sex, belief in susceptibility, seriousness, and effectiveness of precautions.On conclusion: Obligatory wearing of masks was an important governmental necessary step and to improve population reaction to control COVID-19, we need to promote realistic risk perceptions and effective attitudes.

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Community Engagement in the Fight Against COVID-19: Knowledge, Attitude, and Prevention Practices Among Dire Dawa Residents, Eastern Ethiopia

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.753867 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Abdurezak Umer ◽

Kedir Abdella ◽

Yared Tekle ◽

Addisalem Debebe ◽

Tsegahun Manyazewal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Odds Ratio ◽

Good Practice ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Crude Odds Ratio ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Eastern Ethiopia ◽

Preventive Practices ◽

Adequate Knowledge ◽

Dire Dawa

Background: There is a global concern that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cannot be addressed without the integration and active engagement of communities. We aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the residents in Eastern Ethiopia toward COVID-19.Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on May 1–30, 2020 among the residents of Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire on the awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices toward COVID-19. We used random sampling to select the participants. Data was entered into the statistics and data (STATA) version for data cleaning and analysis. Binary logistic regression models with 95% CI were used to conduct bivariable [crude odds ratio (COR)] and multivariable [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)] analyses.Result: A total of 415 community residents responded to the questionnaire. Of those participants, 52.5% (95% CI 47.7–57) had adequate knowledge, 31.6% (95% CI 27–36) had favorable attitudes, and 49% (95% CI 45–50) had good practice toward the precautionary measures of COVID-19. Adequate knowledge had a significant association with urban residence (AOR = 5, 95% CI 3.1–8.4) and literacy (AOR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.5–6.7). Good preventions practices had a significant association with place of residence (AOR = 4.1, 95% CI 2.3–7.2), literacy (AOR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1,2–7.4), adequate knowledge (AOR = 3.5, 95% CI 2.3–5.8), and favorable attitude (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.4–3.8) about the disease.Conclusion: The overall COVID-19-related KAP was inadequate in the majority of the residents of Dire Dawa that occupy irregular migration flows. These call for robust community-centered behavioral communication strategies that could bridge the gaps and help prevent and control COVID-19 and other future pandemics in their community.

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Who is afraid of ticks and tick-borne diseases? Results from a cross-sectional survey in Scandinavia

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-019-7977-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Daniel Slunge ◽

Solveig Jore ◽

Karen Angeliki Krogfelt ◽

Martin Tugwell Jepsen ◽

Anders Boman

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Risk Perceptions ◽

Tick Bite ◽

Tick Bites ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Actual Risk ◽

Perceived Seriousness

Abstract Background In Scandinavia, the distribution of ticks is expanding and tick-borne diseases constitute growing health risks. While the probability of getting a tick-borne disease after a tick bite is low, the health impacts can be large. This, as well as other characteristics of these diseases make tick-related risks difficult for laypeople to assess and perceived risk may differ substantially from actual risk. Understanding risk perceptions is important since it is the perceived risk, rather than actual risk, that determine behaviour and even more so for new and emerging risks. The aim of this study is to investigate knowledge and risk perceptions related to tick bites and the tick-borne diseases Lyme borreliosis (LB) and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). By analysing risk perceptions and knowledge, the study helps inform the development of public health strategies in response to the increasing incidence of these diseases in Scandinavia. Methods Two thousand, six hundred sixty-eight respondents in Denmark, Norway and Sweden answered an online questionnaire with 48 questions, including 7 questions on risk perceptions and 9 knowledge questions. Chi-squared tests were used to analyse statistical differences between country sub-samples, gender and age groups. A multivariate regression model was used to analyse factors associated with risk perceptions. Results Risk perceptions were on average high in comparison with scientific estimates, with respondents grossly overrating the probability of contracting LB or TBE if bitten by a tick. Also, the average perceived seriousness of a single tick bite and of getting LB or TBE was high. Knowledge on the other hand was low, especially among men and the youngest age group (18–29 years). Higher levels of knowledge about tick-borne diseases were associated with lower perceived seriousness of tick bites and LB and higher perceived seriousness of TBE. Also, having been diagnosed with LB was negatively associated with the perceived seriousness of LB. Conclusions Our results indicate that informing about ticks and tick-borne diseases would be a relevant public health strategy as it could make risk perceptions better aligned with actual risk. Should the TBE virus spread further in Denmark and Norway, increasing knowledge about TBE vaccination would be especially important.

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Knowledge, attitude, and utilization of drugs toward COVID-19 pandemic among Bale Zone residents, Southeast Ethiopia

SAGE Open Medicine ◽

10.1177/20503121211034384 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. 205031212110343

Author(s):

Ayele Mamo ◽

Mesud M Hassen ◽

Ahmednur Adem ◽

Zinash Teferu ◽

Musa Kumbi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

Good Practice ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Health Problems ◽

P Value ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Bale Zone

Background: Coronavirus disease is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which poses therapeutic dilemmas. Some suggestions for drug treatment seem problematic. Beliefs about the causes of health problems are determinants of treatment seeking decisions. Hence, one of the alternatives for the solution of health problems is employing traditional medicine to prevent coronavirus disease 19. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and utilization of drugs toward the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic among Bale zone residents. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the Bale Zone population from May 30 to June 30, 2020. Eight hundred fifty-four participants were selected using a single population formula, and a multistage sampling technique was employed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Descriptive and binary logistic regression was used to analyze the outcomes. A p value ⩽ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of the total 854 respondents, about 534 (62.5%) got information about coronavirus disease 19 from TV/radio. More than two-thirds (71.9%) of the respondents have known that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has no curative drugs, and 65.4% had a more appropriate attitude toward overall drug use in coronavirus disease 19. Level of education and, attitude towards drug use were singnificantly associated with knowledge of drugs, source of information about coronavirus disease 19 and having good practice were significantly associated with atittude toward drug utilization. Conclusion: One out of two study participants have good knowledge regarding drugs to the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic. Illiterate people in the community were identified to have poor knowledge about drugs, hence community educuation program is important to improve the knowledge about drugs towards the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic.

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Association between Free Sugars Intake and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness among Chinese Adolescents

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13113959 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 3959

Author(s):

Yue Xi ◽

Qian Lin ◽

Qiping Yang ◽

Fang Li ◽

Hanmei Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness ◽

Daytime Sleepiness ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Chinese Adolescents ◽

Binary Logistic Regression Model ◽

School Students ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Free Sugars

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and explore the association between free sugars intake and EDS. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 1517 middle school students (808 boys and 707 girls) aged 12~14 years were recruited. The study was conducted in Changsha city, China. Adolescents completed an online questionnaire, including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), sleep characteristics, a 12-item Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), and other self-reported information. The ESS score ≥ ten was defined as EDS. The anthropometric indices, including height, weight, and waist circumference, were measured and recorded by uniformly trained assistants. Statistical analyses included the Chi-square test and binary logistic regression model. The mean ESS score and free sugars consumption were 6.8 ± 3.9 points and 53.1 ± 44.7 g/d, respectively. The prevalence of EDS among adolescents was 22.5%, and more girls than boys had EDS (26.1% vs. 19.4%, p < 0.05). An exceeded free sugars intake was positively associated with EDS, with the adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) with its 95% Confident Interval (95% CI) of 1.366 (1.060~1.761, p < 0.05). EDS and excessive consumption of free sugars are commonly found among Chinese adolescents. Further studies are needed to confirm whether free sugars restriction can be meaningful to improve daytime drowsiness in those with EDS.

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Knowledge, Attitude and Prevention Practice of COVID-19 in South-West Nigeria

Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research ◽

10.9734/jammr/2021/v33i830883 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 32-39

Author(s):

Olanrewaju D. Eniade ◽

Dolapo E. Agbana ◽

Bridget O. Afam

Keyword(s):

Positive Attitude ◽

Tertiary Education ◽

Good Practice ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Older Age ◽

Good Knowledge ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Good Practices ◽

Southwest Nigeria

Introduction: To assess knowledge, attitude and prevention practice of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Southwest, Nigeria. This was an online cross-sectional study among dwellers of southwest Nigeria. Methods: Data were collected online with kobo toolbox and analyzed using the Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS, 2018) and the descriptive statistics, test of independence and binary logistic regression were presented. Results: Of the 286 study participants, 96.1% had good knowledge, 99.3% had positive attitude towards control of COVID-19, while 77.3% had good practices for prevention of the virus. Majority of the participants (86.9%) had tertiary education, 11.3% were 40 years or older. Age and education were independently associated with COVID-19 prevention practice. After adjustment for some selected socio-demographic factors, only age of 10 – 19 years (OR: 3.83, CI: 1.05, 14), age 20-29 years (OR: 2.99, CI: 1.18 -7.55), and 30 -39 years (OR: 4.35, CI: 1.49-12.67) were more likely to have good practice of COVID-19 prevention compared to age >=40 years. Conclusion: The result revealed a high prevalence of good practices, and the majority had good knowledge of COVID-19 and positive attitude towards control of COVID-19. Age and education were identified to be associated with practice of COVID-19 prevention. Further exploration revealed that elders (>=40years) were not likely to have good practice of COVID-19 prevention. We deduced that good practice of COVID-19 prevention was high in southwest Nigeria but notably low among elders and those who attained below tertiary education in southwest Nigeria. However, people of older age and poor education should be given much attention for proper enlightening and prevention strategies in this pandemic.

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Knowledge, Practice, and Perception of Barriers Regarding COVID‑19 among Egyptian Health care Workers

10.51429/ejmm30321 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 163-171

Author(s):

Mohamed A. Sakr ◽

Asmaa Y. Sharfeldin, ◽

Ayman A. Sakr ◽

Zeinab A. Kasemy

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Social Networking Sites ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Good Practice ◽

Care Facility ◽

Attitude Score ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was characterized as the etiology for a cluster of pneumonia cases that spread rapidly, causing considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. By April 2021, more than 2,996,791 deaths were reported globally. Proper updated infection control protocol for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) must be provided to every health care facility. Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude, perception of barriers, and practices among Egyptian health care workers (HCWs) regarding COVID-19 disease. Methodology: A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire through a link shared on social networking sites was conducted on 480 HCWs from different regions in Egypt. Results: This assessment included a sample of 480 HCWs. The total knowledge score was (19.95±2.4). Satisfactory knowledge was reported among 60%. Total attitude score was (18.1±3.7) with positive attitude being reported among 23.3%. Total practice score was (10.6±1.1) and good practice was reported among 89.2%. Conclusion: There were satisfactory knowledge and practice with a low positive attitude regarding COVID19 which requires more efforts to improve precautionary measures and training programs in hospitals.

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Assessment of Depression Severity During Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Among the Palestinian Population: A Growing Concern and an Immediate Consideration

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2020.570065 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Hamzeh Al Zabadi ◽

Thair Alhroub ◽

Noor Yaseen ◽

Maryam Haj-Yahya

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Early Stage ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Health Concern ◽

Moderate Degree ◽

Depression Severity ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Depression Prevalence ◽

Normal Degree

Background: Aggressive quarantine and lockdown measures were implemented as protective public health actions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Assessing the psychological effects associated with these measures is an important attempt to inform local policymakers in an early stage. Yet little is known about these effects, specifically depression, among the Palestinians. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of depression among the Palestinian community during this pandemic.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey throughout social media (Facebook and Instagram) was carried out using an anonymous online questionnaire. The validated and standardized depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS) was used to measure depression severity. A snowball technique recruiting the general public living in Palestine was conducted. Data were collected between 6 and 16 April 2020, which corresponded to the middle interval of strict massive lockdown in Palestine on 22 March to 5 May 2020. Multinomial logistic regression model was developed to predict depression severity.Results: About 2,819 respondents filled out the questionnaire. Depression prevalence was (57.5%; n = 1,621). Out of them, 66% had mild/moderate severity, and 34% had severe/extremely severe degree. Depression severity was negatively associated with age {mild/moderate degree [OR (95% CI) = 0.98 (0.97–0.99)] and severe/extremely severe [OR (95% CI) = 0.96 (0.94–0.97)]} degrees compared with normal degree. Males were significantly less likely to have higher depression than females {mild/moderate degree [OR (95% CI) = 0.69 (0.57–0.85)] and severe/extremely severe [OR (95% CI) = 0.52 (0.40–0.86)]} degree. However, those who reported having inadequate food supply and lesser monthly incomes were more likely to have a higher degree of depression as compared with normal degree. Single persons were significantly more likely to have mild/moderate depression than those in a relationship [OR (95% CI) = 1.31 (1.05–1.64)].Conclusions: High depression prevalence (57.5%) among the Palestinian community during the COVID-19 pandemic is a growing public health concern. It is essential to provide psychological counseling and treatment during and after the pandemic for the targeted people at high risk (young age/female gender) who were affected psychologically. Strategic long-term policy to address pandemic ramifications, including depression, by implementing comprehensive interventions taking into account socioeconomic disparities, vulnerability, and inequities, is crucial to emerge from this crisis in Palestine.

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Preventive Practices of Tuberculosis Patients in a Municipality of Chitwan District, Nepal

Journal of College of Medical Sciences-Nepal ◽

10.3126/jcmsn.v15i1.23165 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 59-66

Author(s):

Prerna Bansal ◽

Dipendra Khatiwada ◽

Hari Prasad Upadhyay

Keyword(s):

Health Education ◽

Preventive Measures ◽

Good Practice ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

P Value ◽

Prevention Measures ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Tuberculosis Patients ◽

Preventive Practices

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide and sixth leading cause of death in Nepal. Preventing new infections of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is crucial to reduce TB burden and death. The source of infection is an open (sputum positive) case of pulmonary tuberculosis. Poor management of TB-related waste like disposal of sputum by patients has been reported as a risk factor for increasing susceptibility to active TB infection. The present study was undertaken to assess preventive measures practiced by TB patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 82 tuberculosis patients who visited the five different DOTs centres of Bharatpur Municipality of Chitwan district, Nepal during December 2016 to February 2017. To find the association between variables, chi-square test was used. P-value less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: The Mean ± SD of age of patients was 37.02±18.90 years. 67.10% of the patients received health education on preventive measures. 59.8% of the respondents had good practice on prevention measures of TB. Only 3.70% used burning method for the sputum disposal after diagnosis of TB. None of the respondents used boiling method for the disposal of sputum. Among all only 6% practiced safe method of sputum disposal. The statistically significant variables with health education were preventive measures like self isolation (ᵪ2 = 7.54, p = 0.006), covering face while coughing and sneezing (ᵪ2 = 4.113, p = 0.043) and keeping surrounding clean (ᵪ2= 7.880, p = 0.005). Conclusions: Patients and family members should be well educated on practicing different preventive measures by further strengthening the preventive measures strategy in the transmission of tuberculosis if we envisioned to end TB by 2035.

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Perceived Risk of Being Infected With SARS-CoV-2: A Perspective From Indonesia

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2020.351 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Harapan Harapan ◽

Samsul Anwar ◽

Firzan Nainu ◽

Abdul M. Setiawan ◽

Amanda Yufika ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Risk Perceptions ◽

Final Analysis ◽

Income Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Independent Variables ◽

Care Workers

ABSTRACT Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the level of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk perceptions in Indonesia and characterize predictors of perceptions. Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted. A questionnaire assessed perceived risk and collected independent variables, including sociodemographic data. A multivariable linear regression model was used to characterize the relationship between independent variables and perceived risk. Results: We included 1379 respondents in the final analysis with the mean and median of perceived risk score was 19.21% and 10.0%, respectively. Respondents aged between 21 and 30 years had the highest perceived risk, and those who were unmarried had 4.3% higher perceived risk compared with those who were married. Compared with the lowest monthly income group, those making Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) 6-10 million and more than IDR 10 million a month believed they had 4.2% and 8.8% higher risk, respectively. Citizens who lived in cities and health-care workers also had a higher perceived risk compared with those in the rural areas and non–health-care workers, respectively. Conclusions: Perceived risk of COVID-19 in Indonesia is relatively low, and this could hamper the adoption of preventive measures of COVID-19. Efforts to increase the awareness and perceived risk are important to prevent the pandemic from escalating.

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Assessment of Environmental Attitudes and Risk Perceptions among University Students in Mersin, Turkey

Journal of Environmental and Public Health ◽

10.1155/2017/5650926 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Gulcin Yapici ◽

Oya Ögenler ◽

Ahmet Öner Kurt ◽

Fazıl Koçaş ◽

Tayyar Şaşmaz

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Environmental Risk ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Risk Perceptions ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Environmental Attitudes ◽

Resource Depletion ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Environmental Risk Perception

Background. Environmental destruction is one of the most important problems in this century. Objective. The aim of the study was to determine the environmental attitudes and perceived risks associated with environmental factors of the students. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 7 faculties of Mersin University. The research data were collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics, the “Environmental Attitudes Scale,” and the “Environmental Risk Perception Scale.” 774 students who filled out questionnaires were evaluated. Results. The sample included 55.8% females. Environmental Attitudes Scale mean scores of students were identified as 81.1±11.3. The highest perceived risk was release of radioactive materials associated with nuclear power generation. The environmental attitudes and risk perception scores were higher in Health Sciences than in the other faculties. Females were more positive towards the environment and had higher risk perceptions than the men. There is a negative correlation between age and resource depletion risk and global environmental risk score. Conclusion. Students had a positive attitude to the environment and had moderate-level risk perception about the environment. Environmental awareness of students, especially those studying in the Social Sciences, should be increased. The environmental education curriculum should be revised throughout all the courses.

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