Knowledge, attitude, and practices toward COVID-19 among the international travelers in Thailand

Suttiporn Prapaso,Sant Muangnoicharoen,Viravarn Luvira,Pornthep Chanthavanich,Wiwat Chancharoenthana,Saranath Lawpoolsri,Punnee Pitisuttithum,Archin Songthap,Watcharapong Piyaphanee

doi:10.1186/s40794-021-00155-1

Abstract

BackgroundInternational travel is among the leading impactful factors of COVID-19 transmission; thus, adequate knowledge, good attitude and good preventive practices toward COVID-19 for international travelers are particularly essential for successful pandemic control.MethodsA cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted to determine knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of international travelers (both Thai and non-Thai) and expatriates in Thailand. The data were collected at the Thai Travel Clinic, Bangkok, Thailand and via online platforms during May to October 2020. The independent T-test, Chi-square test and multiple regression analysis (MRA) were applied to determine factors influencing the KAP.ResultsOf 399 travelers, 46.6% were male, 72.1% had a Bachelor’s degree or higher, and the mean age was 35.6 ± 9.6 years. Due to unexpected travel restrictions and lock down, 77.9% of participants were Thai and the respective major purpose of travel was business/work. Travel cancellation/postponement was reported at 73.9%. While sufficient knowledge (≥ 60% correct answers) was reported in 77.9% of participants, a low percentage of correct answers was found in the questions regarding disease transmission. The travelers reported a neutral attitude and an overall moderate concern regarding the COVID-19 situation. Adequate preventive practices were determined by the average practice score 3.54 ± 0.38 (0 = never and 4 = always). The MRA revealed that the factors influencing good practices were travelers who: i) enrolled from outside the hospital (online platform); ii) received pretravel advice at hospital; iii) were female; iv) participated before the declaration of the end of the outbreak; v) were aged 40–49 years, and vi) visited friends and relatives.ConclusionsThe majority of travelers in this study had sufficient knowledge, a neutral attitude and adequate preventive practices toward COVID-19. The factors influencing good practices included pretravel advice, sex, age and the point in the timeline of the outbreak. In order to better control the COVID-19 pandemic situation, pretravel counselling and advice should be promoted as a means to improve knowledge, particularly in disease transmission, increase awareness and emphasize appropriate preventive measures toward COVID-19 among international travelers. Furthermore, preventive practices should be bolstered at all times regardless of the outbreak situation.

Highlights

International travel is among the leading impactful factors of COVID-19 transmission; adequate knowledge, good attitude and good preventive practices toward COVID-19 for international travelers are essential for successful pandemic control
40% of travelers had experienced the test for COVID-19 and two of them had positive results
With respect to sociodemographic characteristics, the independent influencing factors for practices in COVID-19 prevention were site of data collection, pretravel advice at hospital, gender, period of data collection, age, and purpose of travel. (Table 5) The results revealed that mean practice score tended to be higher in participants who completed the questionnaire from outside the hospital (Beta = 0.195), participants who sought pretravel advice (Beta = 0.168) and females (Beta = 0.154)

Summary

Introduction

International travel is among the leading impactful factors of COVID-19 transmission; adequate knowledge, good attitude and good preventive practices toward COVID-19 for international travelers are essential for successful pandemic control. Despite the Thai Department of Disease Control having declared the response protocol against COVID-19 on January 4, 2020, the first confirmed COVID-19 case outside China was reported in Thailand a week later. She was a 61-yearold Chinese woman traveling from Wuhan as an international tourist [1]. An accelerated increase in cases prompted the Thai government to declare a state of emergency, impose a national lockdown, suspend all international flights and establish a quarantine system for international travelers upon arrival at the end of March 2020 [3]

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