The COVID-19 pandemic has become one of the global health challenges in the current context. In Nepal, the first confirmed case was reported on 23 January 2020, and since then, it has resulted in several negative impacts, including economic disruption and deterioration of physical and mental health. In such a pandemic, it is indispensable to understand the knowledge and behavioral patterns of the general population regarding COVID-19. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices on COVID-19 among the general population in most affected districts and its relationship with socio-demographic conditions. The cross-sectional study was conducted among the general population above the age of 18 years from eight districts of Nepal including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Morang, Sunsari, Rupandehi, Chitwan, and Kaski. A convenient non-probability sampling method was considered with total sample size of 702. The questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric statistical tests, and a logistic regression model were used for analysis. The study showed that 93.3% of respondents had knowledge of overall preventive practices, whereas only 32% had knowledge of overall symptoms of COVID-19. Regarding attitudes, only 14.3% strongly believed that the COVID-19 pandemic would end soon. The preventive practice was reduced after the lockdown compared to that of during the lockdown. The respondents with white-collar occupations, high-income, and unmarried were good at KAP. Similarly, highly educated and those residing in urban areas had good knowledge and practice. The study findings will help in the development of targeted programs to improve the general population’s knowledge, attitudes and practices on COVID-19, which is paramount to dealing with the existing pandemic and also such possible future waves of the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become one of the global health challenges in the current context. In Nepal, the first confirmed case was reported on 23 January 2020, and since then it has resulted in several negative impacts including economic disruption and deterioration of physical and mental health. In such a pandemic, it is indispensable to understand the knowledge and behavioral patterns of the general population regarding COVID-19. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice on COVID-19, among the general population and its relationship with socio-demographic conditions. The questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from eight districts of Nepal which included Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Morang, Sunsari, Rupandehi, Chitwan, and Kaski. Descriptive statistics, parametric and non-parametric statistical tests, and a logistic regression model were used for analysis. The study showed that 93.3% of respondents had knowledge of overall preventive practice whereas only 32% had knowledge of overall symptoms of COVID-19. Regarding attitude, only 14.3% believed that they will get rid of COVID-19 soon. The preventive practice was reduced after lockdown compared to that during lockdown. The respondents with white-collar occupations, high-income, and unmarried were good at KAP. Similarly, highly educated and those residing in urban areas had good knowledge and practice. The study findings will help in the development of targeted programs to improve the knowledge, attitude, practice of the general population on COVID-19, which is of paramount importance to deal with the existing pandemic and also such possible future waves of the pandemic.