ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE GAPS, ATTITUDE AND FEAR OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO COVID 19 IN KERALA: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY.

2021 ◽  
pp. 37-40
Author(s):  
Nayna Joseph ◽  
Arathy J Nair ◽  
Ramakrishnan UK ◽  
Deepak KS ◽  
Sonu KS ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND th First case of COVID 19 was reported in India on 30 January 2020, in Kerala. Due to lack of denitive treatment and vaccine, the government-imposed lockdown and educated the people about various preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus. People's adherence to these measures is indicative of their knowledge, attitude and fear towards the pandemic. METHODS This is a cross sectional study and data was collected from a self-reporting online questionnaire from 450 participants. Univariate and multivariate analysis of the data was done to assess differences in mean scores and factors associated with Knowledge, attitude and fear. RESULTS Most were knowledgeable about COVID 19. 80.41% was calculated as the overall correct response while 64.2% of the sample reported better knowledge. Females, older age group and married individuals reported the highest mean score of knowledge questionnaire Most Keralites, showed positive attitude towards preventive measures and healthcare workers. However, 53.1% reported high fear. Women were found to have greater fear and anxiety regarding the pandemic as compared to men.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Girish K Sharma ◽  
Pamposh Raina ◽  
Kailash C Barwal ◽  
Manjeet Kumar ◽  
Vineet Kumar ◽  
...  

The unremitting COVID-19 pandemic is evoking anxiety, fear, panic, and socio-occupational stress among human population all around the globe. This cross-sectional study was planned to assess the fear and anxiety because of COVID-19 pandemic among health care professionals, patients, and general public in IGMC, Shimla. A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted in month of December 2020. COVID-19 fear questionnaire was used to assess fear among participants. A total of 162 responses were received. Ninety-five (41.35%) respondents were males and 67(58.64%) were females. Average total score of COVID-19 fear based on questionnaire was 17.71 among the participants. The majority of respondents 67(41.4%) were afraid of COVID-19, 53(32.7%) were neutral, whereas 42 (25.9%) were not afraid of COVID-19. Sixty-two (38.3%) responders were uncomfortable thinking about COVID-19, whereas, 67(41.4%) were not uncomfortable. Only 22 (13.6%) participants felt their hands clammy when they thought of COVID-19, 78 (48.15%) respondents were afraid of losing their life, 78 (48.15%) respondents disagreed with the question of being nervous or anxious to hear news and stories of COVID-19. Thirteen (8%) participants were informed of sleeplessness, and 22 (13.5%) reported palpitations due to COVID-19 fear. COVID-19 fear was evident in 65.15% of all males and 55.8% of all females’ respondents, respectively. Seventy percent of participants of age more than 40 years were afraid of COVID-19, whereas only 54.83% participants of less than 40 years had COVID-19 fear. COVID-19 fear was more evident among non-HCW (74.42%) as compared to HCW in whom it was seen in 53.03% participants. Rampaging Pandemic has ingrained fear and anxiety among non-HCW as well as health care workers. But undeterred by COVID-19 fear, majority of participants didn’t fear death and didn’t have other effects of fear. Despite (can be used) surging pandemic when fear of COVID-19 is soaring, HCW and non-HCW could work, think, and live.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243410
Author(s):  
Md. Masud Rana ◽  
Md. Reazul Karim ◽  
Md. Abdul Wadood ◽  
Md. Mahbubul Kabir ◽  
Md. Mahidul Alam ◽  
...  

Background Until now, no vaccine or effective drug is available for the control, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19. Preventive measures are the only ways to be protected from the disease and knowledge of the people about the preventive measures is a vital matter. Objectives The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge of the general people in Rajshahi district, Bangladesh regarding the COVID-19 preventive measures. Methodology This cross sectional study was conducted from March 10 to April 25, 2020. Data were collected with a semi-structured questionnaire from 436 adult respondents selected by using a mixed sampling technique. Frequency analysis, chi-square test, and logistic regression model were utilized in this study. SPSS (IBM, Version 22) was used for data analysis. 95% confidence interval and p-value = 0.05 were accepted for statistical significance. Results Only 21.6% of the respondents had good knowledge of the COVID-19 preventive measures. The highest 67.2% of them knew that washing hands with soap could prevent the disease, but contrarily, the highest 72.5% did not know that avoidance of touching mouth, nose, and eyes without washing hands was a preventive measure. Only 28.4% and 36.9% of the respondents knew that maintaining physical distancing and avoiding mass gatherings were measures of prevention of COVID-19 respectively. The younger age (≤25 years), low family income (≤15,000 Bangladeshi Taka (BDT), occupation others than business and service, and nuclear family had the lower odds of having no/less knowledge about the preventive measures. Conclusions The knowledge level of the general people regarding prevention of COVID-19 was alarmingly low in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh, health policy makers and donor agencies should consider the findings and take immediate steps for improving knowledge of the public about prevention of the disease.


Author(s):  
Snigdha Pattnaik ◽  
Rayyan Abdul Khader

Background: The study was conducted in the Urban slum area, Shekpet, Hyderabad, India which is the field practice area of Apollo Medical college.Methods: The aims was to study the awareness regarding symptoms, mode of spread and preventive measures of swine flu in the study population and to study the sources of information and health care seeking pattern of the population. Pre-designed questionnaire was used to collect information onsocio -demographic characteristics (age, sex, education and occupation), knowledge and awareness about the disease (nature, mode of spread/transmission, clinical features, preventive measures and precautions).Results: Majority were unaware of spread of Swine Flu from Pigs. 32% of them said it spreads through coughing and 27% through sneezing. About 15% of them said it spreads by sharing same room.Conclusions: The cross sectional study, was taken up during the recent outbreak of Swine flu in Hyderabad. Knowledge, Attitude and Prevention practices of the infection, was carried out in the urban slum of Shaikpet area the study will create awareness of the disease and its preventive measures among the people. Thus, it would reduce the incidence of occurrences of the disease in future.


Author(s):  
Prince Yeboah ◽  
Dennis Bomansang Daliri ◽  
Ahmad Yaman Abdin ◽  
Emmanuel Appiah-Brempong ◽  
Werner Pitsch ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected populations globally, including Ghana. Knowledge of the COVID-19 disease, and the application of preventive public health interventions are pivotal to its control. Besides a lockdown, measures taken against the spread of the virus include the wearing of face masks, social distancing, regular hand washing with soap and, more recently, vaccination against the virus. In order to establish a possible link between the knowledge of the disease and compliance with preventive measures, including vaccination, a cross-sectional study employing an interview-structured questionnaire was conducted in six regions of Ghana (n = 1560). An adequate level of knowledge of COVID-19 (69.9%) was reported. The linear multiple regression analysis further explicated the differences in the knowledge of COVID-19 among the respondents by their knowledge of cholera and influenza (adjusted R-Square = 0.643). Despite this profound knowledge of the illness, two thirds of the respondents were unwilling to follow basic preventive measures and only 35.3% were willing to be vaccinated. Amazingly, neither knowledge of COVID-19 nor the socio-demographic characteristics had any meaningful influence on the practice of preventive measures. Personal attitude leading to efficient public compliance with preventive measures, therefore, is a critical issue demanding special attention and effective interventions by the government and locals with authority to curb the spread of the pandemic which surpasses the traditional channels of public health communication. This includes a roll-out of persuasion, possibly including public figures and influencers, and in any case, a balanced and open discussion addressing the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in order to avoid new variants and comparable problems currently facing many countries of Western Europe. Indeed, a profound hesitancy against vaccination may turn African countries such as Ghana for many years into hotspots of new viral variants.


Author(s):  
Vimal Arya ◽  
Mahendra Chowksey

Background: The long-term control of the pandemic COVID-19 pandemic hinges on the uptake of vaccine and high immunization uptake is critical. Vaccine hesitancy is one of the top 10 threats to global health. Hesitancy will be a challenge to curbing this pandemic.Methods: A cross‐sectional study was done among the population in Jhansi where data was collected through an online questionnaire using Google forms and was distributed using social media platforms. Total of 220 data was collected.Results: 80.2% of the respondents were willing to get vaccinated. 78.9% of the respondents have taken previous vaccinations by the government. 70 of them trust government health care departments and media (82.2%) is the least trusted platform regarding vaccination. Majority agreed to the perceived benefits of COVID-19. 80.3% were willing to take free vaccination. 46.9% were willing to pay for COVID vaccine.Conclusions: The scenario in Jhansi was positive towards the vaccination drive and majority of them were willing to get vaccinated. But strategies must be made effective in terms of elevating the barriers to vaccination.


Author(s):  
Joana Meneses Martins ◽  
Liliana Gavinha Costa ◽  
Ana Lidia Carvalho ◽  
Maria Conceição Manso ◽  
Sandra Gavinha ◽  
...  

Background: The objective was to determine if asymmetric facial features, nasal and chin deviations, affect the perception of attractiveness of a dental midline angulation, and if it is consistent among both dentists and laypeople. It was also analyzed if factors, such as the sex, age group of the participants and the dentist’s area of operation are relevant in their assessment. Methods: A cross-sectional study, approved by the Ethics Committee of Fernando Pessoa University. From a symmetrical facial model (SFM) image, a natural-looking asymmetrical face was created. Based on this asymmetric facial model six images were created, with different directions and degrees of inclination of the dental midline. In total, 236 laypersons and 242 dentists completed the online questionnaire where they rated the self-perception of attractiveness of the eight images (VAS scale from 0 to 10). Non-parametric comparisons (IBM© SPSS Statistics vs. 27.0, p < 0.05). Results: The results showed a significant difference in the perception of attractiveness between laypeople and dentists. This finding was consistent regarding every image, except for the SFM. The factors, sex of the people participating and dentist’s area of operation, seemed only to contribute to a significant difference in the perception when it came to the SFM. The perceived attractiveness of the images, for dentists and laypersons, did not differ by age group of the participant, apart from images 6 and 8. Conclusions: Dentists are more rigorous about dental midline inclinations than laypersons. The perception of attractiveness was affected by the age group and sex of the participants and the dentist’s area of operation.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3314
Author(s):  
Leila Cheikh Ismail ◽  
Tareq M. Osaili ◽  
Maysm N. Mohamad ◽  
Amina Al Marzouqi ◽  
Amjad H. Jarrar ◽  
...  

The coronavirus disease is still spreading in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with subsequent lockdowns and social distancing measures being enforced by the government. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of the lockdown on eating habits and lifestyle behaviors among residents of the UAE. A cross-sectional study among adults in the UAE was conducted using an online questionnaire between April and May 2020. A total of 1012 subjects participated in the study. During the pandemic, 31% reported weight gain and 72.2% had less than eight cups of water per day. Furthermore, the dietary habits of the participants were distanced from the Mediterranean diet principles and closer to “unhealthy” dietary patterns. Moreover, 38.5% did not engage in physical activity and 36.2% spent over five hours per day on screens for entertainment. A significantly higher percentage of participants reported physical exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, irritability, and tension “all the time” during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic (p < 0.001). Sleep disturbances were prevalent among 60.8% of the participants during the pandemic. Although lockdowns are an important safety measure to protect public health, results indicate that they might cause a variety of lifestyle changes, physical inactivity, and psychological problems among adults in the UAE.


Author(s):  
Pankaj Kumar ◽  
Jayshree J. Upadhye

Background: By simple hygiene and sanitation measures for cough, swine flu transmission can be effectively prevented. The purpose of this study was to know whether the people had enough knowledge about swine flu (H1N1) and to assess their knowledge about possible preventive measures to be taken including vaccination against swine flu epidemics.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during November to December 2018. 200 residents were surveyed.Results: In our study, 196 (98%) of respondents were aware of swine flu infection, 170 (85%) of respondents knew that swine flu is due to viral infection while 130 (65%) of respondents were aware that swine flu infection spreads through air while sneezing and coughing. 192 (96%) of respondents knew fever as symptom of swine flu, 166 (83%) of respondents knew cough and cold as symptoms while 128 (64%) of respondents knew headache and body ache as symptoms. 188 (94%) of respondents were aware that vaccination against Swine flu can prevent swine flu infection. 160 (80%) of respondents knew that covering mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing can prevent spread of Swine flu infection while 104 (52%) of respondents knew that frequent hand washing helps in preventing spread of Swine flu infection.Conclusions: The present review concluded that majority of the respondents had substantial knowledge regarding swine flu, yet there were notable deficiencies regarding the transmission, preventive measures and availability of vaccine. There is need for appropriate training regarding infectious diseases and continuous education programs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 1144-1150
Author(s):  
Muralidharan V A ◽  
Gheena S

Covid -19 is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered strain of coronavirus. As there is no vaccine discovered, the only way to prevent the spread is through following the practice of social isolation. But prolonged isolation may also lead to psychological stress and problems. The objective of the survey was to assess the knowledge and awareness of preventive measures against Covid 19 amongst small shop owners. A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted amongst the small shop owners.  A structured questionnaire comprising 15-17 questions had been put forth to assess the Covid 19 related knowledge and perception. The shopkeepers were contacted telephonically and responses recorded. The data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS statistics. Although the majority of the population had a positive perception about the preventive measures against the Covid spread, 36% of the shopkeepers were not aware of the preventive measures against the Covid spread. This study found optimal knowledge and perception of the preventive measures against Covid spread among the shopkeepers but misinformation and misunderstanding still prevailing. The shopkeepers are crucial in the prevention of the spread of Covid 19 and educating them might aid us in the fight against Covid- 19. 


Author(s):  
Mohamed N. Al Arifi ◽  
Abdulrahman Alwhaibi

Objective: Fever alone can lead to rare serious complications in children, such as febrile seizures. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, beliefs, and behavior of parents toward fever and its management. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was applied over a period of 3 months, from January to March 2018, to parents who were living in Saudi Arabia. The inclusion criteria were a parent who is a resident of Saudi Arabia, with at least one child aged 6 years or less, while incomplete questionnaires, having a child aged more than 6 years, or parents who were not living in Saudi Arabia were excluded. Results: A total of 656 parents completed the questionnaire. More than two-thirds of the subjects were female, the majority of whom were aged between 25–33 years old. The best-reported place to measure the temperature of children was the armpit (46%), followed by the ear (28%) and the mouth (10.7%). More than half of the parents considered their children feverish at a temperature of 38 °C. The majority of parents (79.7%) reported that the most serious side effects of fever were seizure, brain damage (39.3%), coma (29.9%), dehydration (29.7%), and death (25%). The most common method used to measure a child’s temperature was an electronic thermometer (62.3%). The most common antipyretic was paracetamol (84.5%). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the good knowledge of parents in identifying a feverish temperature using the recommended route and tools for measuring body temperature.


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