Awareness, Perception, and Practice of Obese Patients toward COVID-19: A Study from Tertiary Care Center, India

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 has emerged as a global health crisis. It has been established that people with obesity are prone to develop severe manifestations of COVID-19. Since there is no established treatment of the disease, yet, it is essential to increase public awareness toward prevention of infection. This study was aimed to assess the awareness, perception, and practices of obese subjects toward COVID-19 infection. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 260 obese patients between August 2020 and November 2020 who were enrolled in obesity and metabolic disorders clinic at our institute. A structured questionnaire consisting of 23 questions (15 of knowledge, four of perception, and four of practices) was administered by telephonic interview with the patients. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with poor knowledge and practice toward COVID-19. Results: The mean age of the participants was 41.7 ± 10.2 years, with 166 (64%) females. Mean awareness score obtained by subjects was 9.1 ± 2.2 out of 15. The scores were categorized into good, moderate, and poor. Subjects with poor awareness constituted 36% of study population. Mean perception score of participants was 14.0 ± 2 out of 20. Majority of patients (69.2%) had moderate perception score. Mean score obtained in practices was 18.5 ± 2.1 out of 20 and 92% of subjects reported good practices. Age was negatively associated with awareness score. Gender and educational qualification had a significant impact on awareness score with males having better awareness then females. Graduates and above had higher awareness score. Increase in awareness score was found to be associated with improved practices but not with perception. Conclusion: The prevalence of good practices toward COVID-19 among obese patients was high (92%) although poor awareness was also highly prevalent (36%). Increasing the awareness through various means should be considered.

Systematic review and meta‐analysis of knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding COVID‐19 among chronic disease patients: A global perspective

“…Following this phase, a comprehensive review of the full-text articles was conducted, excluding 186 studies from further consideration. A total of 23 studies, including 21 studies for knowledge, 10,12,13,15,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] 12 studies for attitudes, 10,12,14,15,[19][20][21]23,29,30,34,35 and 12 studies for practice 10,12,[18][19][20][21]23,[29][30][31]35 were included in the meta-analysis (Figure 1).…”

“…The most knowledge is related to an African country (Rwanda 97%), 15 and the least is associated with a European country (Romania 10.8%) 26 . Among Asian countries, two studies in India showed very low values for good knowledge 17,29 . Given that knowledge levels might differ significantly across countries and continents; it is possible that a COVID‐19 education program that is designed to accommodate all students won't be successful.…”

“…Regarding the level of COVID‐19 preventive behaviors, the first to third place was assigned to Africa, Asia, and Europe, respectively. Furthermore, the highest level of COVID‐19 preventive behaviors belonged to the Asian country of Vietnam (90.8), 23 and the lowest level to the Asian country of India (23.5) 29 . Various factors, including government policies, public health campaigns, and cultural norms, may affect these variations.…”

“…26 Among Asian countries, two studies in India showed very low values for good knowledge. 17,29 Given that knowledge levels might differ significantly across countries and…”

“…Furthermore, the highest level of COVID-19 preventive behaviors belonged to the Asian country of Vietnam (90.8), 23 and the lowest level to the Asian country of India (23.5). 29 Various factors, including government policies, public health campaigns, and cultural norms, may affect these variations. F I G U R E 6 Forest plot of I-V heterogeneity random-effect meta-analysis for coronavirus disease 2019 preventive behaviors among chronic disease patients.…”