scholarly journals A Survey to Assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice about COVID-19 Pandemic from West Bengal, India

Author(s):  
Subhrojyoti Bhowmick ◽  
Saksham Parolia ◽  
Shubham Jana ◽  
Debarati Kundu ◽  
Sujit Karpurkayastha ◽  
...  

Introduction: The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) that originated in China in December 2019 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 11th March, 2020. It has resulted in extensive lockdown measures in India and in the state of West Bengal. Both Central and State Governments have made considerable efforts to increase awareness about the pandemic among the general public. Aim: This study was conducted to assess the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) among the general public of West Bengal about the pandemic as no such data is available till date. Materials and Methods: The retrospective survey was undertaken among the general public of the state of West Bengal, India, by means of social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) through a validated e-questionnaire containing 10 questions during 18th April, 2020 to 3rd May, 2020. Data was captured on Google Forms, which were analysed using appropriate tools. Results: A total of 355 responses were obtained. A 97% of responders were completely aware of the pandemic with 92% practising preventive measures, such as social distancing, washing hands, and wearing a mask. Majority of the participants were young (18-30 years of age) with 51% being males. A 99% of the responders were literate and 86% were from urban dwelling. Total 61% of the participants stated that they have learnt something new after participating in this survey. Conclusion: KAP about COVID-19 pandemic was found to be high in the general population of West Bengal. Involvement of various social media platforms is required for generating mass awareness about COVID-19 in rural West Bengal. Continuous communication and survey by the Government is necessary to spread public awareness as information about COVID-19 is constantly evolving.

Author(s):  
Matthew Loo ◽  
BCIT School of Health Sciences, Environmental Health ◽  
Helen Heacock ◽  
Reza Afshari

  Background: The public perceives seafood generally as a healthy food. Studies have shown that consumption of fish is associated with healthy heart function. However, the benefits of consuming seafood may also come with some risks, which may not be well-known by the public. Seafood can potentially contain contaminants that originate from the natural environment or pollutants from human activity. The contaminants of interest that were focused on in this study include lead, mercury, organophosphates, and domoic acid. Methods: The study utilized a KAP (Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice) survey to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding these contaminants between the general public and those working in the seafood industry. Nominal data was analyzed by the chi-square test while numerical data was analyzed by the t-test. Results: The data obtained did not show a statistically significant difference between the general public and the seafood industry (p-values greater than significance level of 0.05 on all parameters) in their knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding seafood contaminants. Conclusion: There was no difference between the general public and the seafood industry in their knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding seafood contaminants. Although the attitude data was not significant, the effects of some chemical contaminants (organophosphates and domoic acid) were generally incorrectly perceived by both groups unlike biological contaminants. Additional research will be required, but results from this study show that educational intervention by the government or health authorities may be needed.  


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Azuonwu Obioma ◽  
◽  
Ihua Nnenna ◽  
Ahiakwo Christian ◽  
◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic has been considered to be very phenomenal as the period is marked with some unimaginable Health crises across the globe. COVID-19 has been a global Public Health threat widely affecting the entire populace irrespective of the class and sex across the region of the world. This has attracted lots of sensitization and interventions from the appropriate approved Health agencies such as World Health Organization, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and others to better inform the general public about the nature and mode of operandi of the pandemic virus in the absence of an accepted therapeutics and vaccines as at the time of this study. However, the media is flooded with information; not excluding some misconceptions about COVID-19 pandemic. These conflicting information are taken by the general public without reservation, hence, the study investigated the level of awareness of the public about COVID-19 virus, in relation to general knowledge, signs/symptoms, associated risk factors, transmission/spread and misconceptions. The study was delimited to Nigerians who had access to the internet. The study instrument was a self-structured questionnaire, validated by experts in this area. A Cronbach Alpha revealed a reliability index of 0.92. The online descriptive survey on the awareness level of the public, utilized Google form technique to create the questionnaire which was sent through emails and links to various social media and private platforms. Five research questions and hypothesis guided the study. A combination of primary and secondary data sources aided the study. Modified Likert scale (four points) was used and a criterion mean of 2.5 was used as the cut-off for either aware/agree (>2.5) or not aware/disagree (<2.5). Statistical Package for Social Science version 21 was used to estimate descriptive and inferential statistics at 5% alpha level for deduction. A response rate of 99.1% was obtained and a sample size of 347 was used. The study outcome suggests many interesting phenomena concerning public awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a high level of awareness of COVID-19. However, there is a need for the government and media platforms to curtail the spread of fake news and correct the misconceptions about COVID-19 among her citizens in the region.


Author(s):  
Hikmet Tosyalı ◽  
Furkan Tosyalı

The new form of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Then, the citizens were required to stay in their homes. In this process, social media has become the users' window to the global village. With the prolongation of the isolation process, the use and importance of these platforms in communication, entertainment, socialization, and access to instant information about the pandemic have increased. People and institutions responsible for pandemic management have started to frequently benefit from social media platforms in risk communication activities to create public awareness about the disease and reinforce individuals' beliefs to comply with the precautions. In this study, the person responsible for COVID-19 pandemic planning and response in Turkey, the Minister of Health's, Twitter account was analyzed. The posts shared by the Minister of Health were subjected to content analysis, and the messages conveyed to the citizens were examined from the perspective of the health belief model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 205031212110343
Author(s):  
Bedru Jemal ◽  
Zemedu Aweke ◽  
Simeneh Mola ◽  
Sileshi Hailu ◽  
Sileshi Abiy ◽  
...  

Background: An emerging respiratory disease abbreviated as coronavirus disease 2019 was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan city of China. The virus is zoonotic and tends to be transmitted between animals to humans and humans to humans. The major route of transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 is droplet and close contact. The Ethiopian Ministry of Health has initiated training for health care workers at a different level. Thus, the main objective of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of health workers in Ethiopia toward coronavirus disease 2019 and its prevention techniques. Method: An institution-based multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in each of eight teaching and referral hospitals. A total of 422 Ethiopian healthcare workers were selected for the assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice toward coronavirus disease 2019. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. A logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with the attitude and knowledge of healthcare workers toward coronavirus disease 2019 at a significance level of p < 0.05. Result: Three hundred ninety-seven healthcare workers participated in the study, with a response rate of 94%. Among these, 88.2% and 94.7% of respondents had good knowledge and positive attitudes, respectively. A respondent with a history of chronic medical illness (odds ratio: 0.193, 95% confidence interval: 0.063–0.593), social media, telecommunication, and television/radio as a source of information were significantly associated with knowledge (odds ratio: 3.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.5–7.4, OR: 4.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.3–14.3 and odds ratio: 3.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.4–7.2). In addition, respondents with a history of chronic medical illness were significantly associated with a negative attitude toward coronavirus disease 2019. Conclusion: The knowledge and attitude were good while; the practice was relatively low. Sources of information such as social media, telecommunication, and television/radio were positively associated with healthcare workers' knowledge about coronavirus disease 2019.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanwen Lan ◽  
Sze Yee Lee ◽  
Man Xin Lee ◽  
Louis Tong

Dry eye is a common health problem worldwide, causing significant discomfort and inconvenience to sufferers. The conventional treatment of dry eye via topical administration of eye drops is deemed palliative and unsatisfactory to many. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has shown some promise in dry eye treatment; however, the extent of its use and acceptance is uncertain. We evaluated the knowledge, attitude, and practice of institutional TCM practitioners in the treatment of dry eye in Singapore. A questionnaire was generated to address the study aims and sent to TCM practitioners listed in the Singapore TCM practitioners’ board database. About three quarters of respondents thought that dry eye was not severe enough to be a public health burden but most thought that TCM was effective in the treatment of dry eye. Acupuncture and herbal medicine were most commonly used TCM modalities in dry eye treatment, and a single TCM treatment session would be charged S$20–50 by the practitioner. The majority of surveyed institutional TCM practitioners in Singapore believe that TCM is relevant in dry eye treatment. Public awareness should be raised regarding the availability of TCM as alternative medicine for dry eye.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Muhammad Abdullahi Maigari ◽  
Uthman Abdullahi Abdul-Qadir

This paper examines the abduction of the schoolgirls in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria in 2014. The paper examined how the abduction of the schoolgirls generated responses and support for the rescue of the abducted girls from people and organization from different parts of the globe. The Islamists terrorist organization operating in Borno State has attracted the attention of the world since 2009 when they started attacking government establishments and security installations northeast which later escalated to major cities in Northern Nigeria. Methodologically, the paper utilized secondary sources of data to analyze the phenomenon studied. The paper revealed that the development and innovations in information and communication technology which dismantled traditional and colonial boundaries enabled people to express support, solidarity and assist victims of conflict who resides millions of Kilometers away. This shows that Internet-based communications technology has reduced the distance of time and space that characterised traditional mass media. The campaign for the release of the schoolgirls on the social media platforms particularly Twitter and Facebook has tremendously contributed to the release of some of them. Furthermore, the girls freed from abduction have received proper attention: education and reintegration programmes which enable them to start post-abduction life. In this regard, social media has become a tool for supporting the government in moments of security challenges which the Bring Back Our Girls campaign attracted foreign and domestic assistance to Nigeria in the search of the abducted girls and the fight against the Islamist insurgents.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (32) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jumi Herlita

Zakat and taxes are two important sources of funding for the state. Both function to solve economic problems and reduce poverty in the community. But in reality the function of zakat and tax can not be optimal. BAZNAS and LAZ as an extension of the government in managing zakat can not be maximized in the collection of zakat funds as well as taxes. Although the nature of the tax is not specific to the poor, but also to the rich, but in fact the existence of taxes have not been able to solve poverty in Indonesia. Therefore it is necessary solution to synergize zakat and tax in order to increase zakat and tax collection. With bersinerginya zakat and taxes are expected to increase public awareness to pay zakat and taxes that can eventually be used to reduce poverty.


Author(s):  
Manpreet Arora ◽  
Roshan Lal Sharma

Entrepreneurs are regarded as the leaders of socio-economic, industrial, and business development. They are important pillars of any economy. They are the employment generators and contribute to economic growth. In the current scenario caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed people across the world losing their jobs. An inclination towards entrepreneurial activities has been observed in 2020. People have started communicating how entrepreneurial activities are the only solution for economies in crises. The role of social media platforms cannot be under-emphasized, and therefore, an entrepreneur today has to be a master of various media of communication. This chapter aims at exploring the concept of entrepreneurship with special reference to communication. It highlights challenges and issues in the post-pandemic world with reference to entrepreneurship and the role effective communication can play in handling them. It also attempts to examine the use of the term ‘entrepreneurship' by general public on social media such as Twitter in particular with a view to work out its implications.


2022 ◽  
pp. 100-122
Author(s):  
Ungku Fatimah Ungku Zainal Abidin ◽  
Maimunah Sanny ◽  
Nur Hanani Zainal Abedin

Polystyrene is commonly used on a daily basis for the packaging of takeaways as if people assume that it is safe. Although studies show the migration of styrene into food could cause adverse health impacts such as cancer, neurotoxicity, and hormone-related problems, less is known about public awareness of its risk. This chapter presents a study conducted to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of polystyrene food packaging usage among food operators (i.e., hawkers, restaurants, and night market). Data were collected using self-administered to survey 115 food operators. Results show that the food operators have a moderate knowledge and attitude in polystyrene usage. Their practice in polystyrene usage is still poor. Food operators from restaurants had the highest level of KAP compared to hawker and night markets. The finding could provide some guides in developing interventions to educate food operators about food safety issues related to polystyrene.


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