Abstract
Objectives: Effective mitigation of coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) pandemic requires true adoption of precautionary measures by the masses, that primarily depends upon their knowledge and practices behaviors. The current study aimed to assess the knowledge; practices of Pakistani residents regarding COVID-19 and factors associated with adequate knowledge and positive practices.Material and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from 15-April 2020 to 20 May 2020 among 689 Pakistanis by using a validated self-administered questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha 0.77). The questionnaire included questions on the assessment of demographics, the source of information, knowledge, and practice of COVID-19 on google forms and shared links with the WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages and other online platforms. Regression analysis was applied to find potential predictors of knowledge and practices.Results: Of 689 participants, 431 (62.6%) were male, 64.3% (n = 443) were aged <30 years, and\\328 (47.6%) of participants were married. 48.19% (n = 332) had adequate knowledge; 81% (n = 555) had positive practices regarding COVID-19 and majority (66.62%, n = 459) seek knowledge from social media. Knowledge was significantly higher (OR > 1.00, p < 0.05) among educated and higher income participants. Positive practices were significantly (OR > 1.00, p < 0.05) related to the older age (≥50 years), higher education, higher income and good knowledge regarding COVID-19.Conclusion: The study concluded that Pakistani residents had average knowledge and good practices toward COVID-19 yet there are gaps in specific aspects of knowledge, and practice that should be focused in future awareness and educational campaigns. The study recommends the ministry of health authorities to promote all precautionary and preventive measures of COVID-19-consisting of a better-organized approach to all strata of society: less privileged people, older ones and less educated people, in order to have equilibrium of knowledge about COVID-19; hence effective implementation of precautionary measures.
Highlights
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to be a pandemic, with disease spread in 114 countries and more than 4,000 deaths [1]
In context of the explanation above, the current study aimed to evaluate the current level of awareness regarding transmission, symptoms, and preventive measures of COVID-19 among the general population in Pakistan
Majority of participants used social media (66.62%, n = 459) as a source to seek information regarding COVID-19 followed by television/radio (62.99%, n = 434) and friends (25.54%, n = 176)
Summary
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to be a pandemic, with disease spread in 114 countries and more than 4,000 deaths [1]. Within 6 weeks, Pakistan developed a test capacity of up to 30,000 tests per day, imposed lockdowns across the country, suspending public transportation systems, and restricting air and sea travel [5]. Sindh (n = 27,360) has the highest number of cases followed by Punjab (n = 25,056), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) (n = 9,540), Baluchistan (n = 4,193), Islamabad (n = 2,418), Gilgit Baltistan [678], and Azad Jammu Kashmir (n = 251) [7]. Punjab (n = 475) being the most populous province has the highest number of deaths followed by Sindh (n = 465), KP (n = 453), Baluchistan (n = 46), Islamabad (n = 27), Gilgit Baltistan [10], and Azad Jammu Kashmir (n = 7) [7]
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