Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Measures in Mwandi District of Zambia – A Three-Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which affects the upper and the lower respiratory tract system and spreads via droplet and person-to-person close contact. This study sought to determine the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of people towards COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures in order to enhance and amplify the impact of COVID-19 preventive measures in Mwandi District, in the Western Province of Zambia in Central Africa. A total of 380 patients and clients aged between 15 and 50 whose COVID-19 status was not known were selected via simple random sampling technique to participate in this study. Data was collected using structured interview questionnaire and was analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Tables and charts were used to present the analyzed data. The correlations between predictors and end results variables were categorized by multivariate logistic regression analysis. This study revealed that most of study participants 35.8% (136) were aged between 21 and 30 with the mean value of 2.18. The study also disclosed that most of the study participants 58.4% (222) were females while 41.6% (158) were males with mean value of 1.58. The study further disclosed that 95% (361) of the respondents had adequate level of knowledge on COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures. And age, marital status, level of education, occupation and number of children were found to have significant correlation with level of knowledge on COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures (P<0.05). It also revealed that the vast majority of the respondents 92.1% (350) had good attitude towards COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures. Level of education and occupation were found to have statistically significant association with level of attitude towards covid-19 infection prevention and control measures (P<0.05). The study also uncovered that 76.1% (289) of the respondents had good practice towards COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures while 23.9% (91) had poor practice towards COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures. Level of education and occupation were found to have statistically substantial association with level of practice towards covid-19 infection prevention and control measures (P<0.05). However, it is recommended that there is need to raise community awareness on the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 infection. There is also need for community sensitization on the importance of strict adherence to five golden rules of Covid-19 infection prevention and control measures.