The Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices According to Facemask Practice During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The use of facemask as precaution from COVID-19 cross-transmission have been strongly advocated by healthcare agencies as a public health management strategy to mitigate the pandemic burden on the healthcare system. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) according to facemask practice during COVID-19. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariable linear regression was used to identify factor contributing to knowledge while Binomial analysis was used to investigate factors contributing to practice. Among 268 participants included in the study, those with medical-grade facemask had better knowledge score (88.8%) compared to non-medical facemask (86.3%) and those without facemask (78.6%). Majority of participants had positive attitudes on controlling COVID-19 pandemic (88.8%), the ability in overcoming the pandemic (99.2%) and use of facemask in a public place (98.9%). Participants using medical-grade facemask (Adjusted Odds Ratio; AOR 5.9, 95% CI 1.9–18.0; p = .002) have appropriate practices towards COVID-19. However, participants using medical-grade facemask were 9.2 times (AOR 9.2, 95% CI: 3.5–24.5, p < .001) more likely to reuse of facemask without washing. The results highlight adequate KAP among respondents. However hygienic use of facemask need to be disseminated among general population.