An Online Investigation of Knowledge and Preventive Practices in Regard to COVID-19 in Iran

Abstract

Background: Until now, there was no available study on the knowledge and practice of the people of Iran with regard to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and preventive practices of Iranians toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 925 people who completed an online questionnaire in March 2020. The study used 21 and 14 questions, respectively, to assess the knowledge and preventive practices of the population in regard to COVID-19. Cronbach's alpha was 0.75 for the knowledge scale and 0.71 for the practice scale. To determine the importance of each independent variable in explaining the participant's practice, a multiple regression model was applied. Key Results: The results indicated a moderate level of knowledge and preventive practices in regard to COVID-19 in most of the respondents (56.8% and 56.5%, respectively). According to the multiple regression analysis, knowledge showed the highest effect on the practice of the participants (β = 0.479). The determination coefficient for the model ( R 2 = 0.509) also showed approximately 51% of the variance in practice was explained by gender, occupational status, knowledge, cost of hand sanitizer, and the belief in the effectiveness of using such necessities. Conclusions: Acceptable rates of knowledge and practice were observed in most Iranians. However, approximately 10% of the participants were unaware of the effective measures for preventing the infection, which can cause active transmission of the virus. In addition to considering the importance of high community awareness in prevention and isolation measures, the government should provide disinfectants and other materials at a low price to reduce the transmission, as this may lead to effective practice to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19. [ HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice . 2021;5(1):e15–e23.] Plain Language Summary: This study sought to evaluate the knowledge and preventive practices of Iranians toward the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Findings of this research demonstrate acceptable rates of knowledge and practice in most Iranians; however, about 10% of them were unaware of the true prevention practices, which can cause active transmission of the virus.

Development and Psychometric Assessment of a Scale for Measuring Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice About COVID-19

“…41 The developed questionnaires in Iran only examine knowledge and attitude 42 or lack proper trans-cultural dimensions. 43 This is the first study to accurately develop and investigate the psychometric properties of the KAP-COVID-19 instrument in Iran. Several points should be considered when applying this questionnaire.…”

Compliance to Community Infection Control Standards during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Integrative Review

“…This theme refers to the practices in which the respondents of the studies perform in order to prevent and control the spread of Coivd-19 in the community setting. Infection control practices that are essential in the prevention and control of Covid-19 on the personal level were the use of N95 masks/disposable surgical masks, hand washing using 7-step protocol, and covering of nose and mouth with paper tissues or elbows while coughing and sneezing as well as leaving the house only when necessary, not shaking hands with, or kissing or hugging others, and disinfecting handles and surfaces [22,23]. Meanwhile, the health practices in the households in the prevention and control of Covid-19 include the use of face masks, physical distancing, frequent room cleaning once in 1-2 days, frequent house cleaning using chlorine or ethanol-based disinfectant once in 2 or more days, and the practice of opening the windows to allow convection of indoor air of more than one per day [24].…”

“…This theme enumerates the reasons that affect the compliance of the community towards covid-19 prevention and control. The studies that were included in this review discussed the direct correlation of adequate knowledge in the practice and compliance towards Covid-19 mitigation [23,25]. Factors such as age, gender, occupational status, education, availability of hand sanitizers, gloves, masks, cost of hand sanitizers, and belief in the effectiveness of using such necessities were significantly associated with the practice of preventive measures reading the virus [23].…”

“…The studies that were included in this review discussed the direct correlation of adequate knowledge in the practice and compliance towards Covid-19 mitigation [23,25]. Factors such as age, gender, occupational status, education, availability of hand sanitizers, gloves, masks, cost of hand sanitizers, and belief in the effectiveness of using such necessities were significantly associated with the practice of preventive measures reading the virus [23]. In addition, people residing in urban areas are more compliant to Covid-19 infection prevention and control as people living in urban areas were more likely to seek medical advice than people in rural areas if they suspected infection [22].…”

Predicting Risk of Mortality in COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients using Hybrid Machine Learning Algorithms

“…Without fully licensed treatment or whole safe vaccination, some mitigation efforts were implemented to control the epidemic [9,10]. In many low-and middleincome countries (LMICs), such as Iran, the public with low-health information followed fewer hygiene guidelines provided by the government for the protection from COVID-19, leading to the spread of the virus and broken the health systems, especially in LMICs [11,12]. Therefore, plans based on the effective prognosis are most important for healthcare authorities to evaluate triage patients' conditions and manage limited medical resources adequately [13,14].…”