Study of Knowledge and Attitudes towards Respiratory Hygiene and Respiratory Exercise in School-Aged Children, According to Gender: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Abstract

Background: As the COVID-19 epidemic began in 2019 in Wuhan, China, and spread quickly to numerous nations.Therefore, in order to curb the spread of this disease, the government has implemented various preventativemeasures, such as social distance, using napkins when sneezing or coughing, avoid hand contact with thosewho are ill, etc. Children attending large gatherings since schools have resumed operations as per governmentdirectives, making them susceptible to the transmission of Covid-19. In order to stop the spread of the pandemicamong children, it is important to evaluate how school-aged children understand the respiratory exercises andpreventative measures recommended by the Government of India.Methodology: The knowledge and attitudes of school-going youngsters were evaluated using a cross-sectionalsurvey research. A thorough assessment of the literature led to the formulation of the survey’s google formquestionnaire, which included 17 questions in the knowledge and attitude domains. Snowball sampling was usedto distribute the survey questionnaire to 800 students in North Indian schools. Only 673 students were included inthe survey due to the inclusion and exclusion criteria.Results: Among 673 students, 404 students were females (22.965±2.899) and rest were males (22.186±3.772). Ourstudy shows that both the domains’ knowledge (t-stat 3.024) and attitude (t-stat 3.420) are highly significant asthe p-value is <0.001. The correlation between both domains shows that both domains are positively and highlysignificantly correlated as the r-value is 0.44.Conclusion: The precautionary steps that the Indian government implemented have had a positive influence onstudents’ lives and knowledge, and they are taking excellent care of themselves