Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Fear of COVID-19: an Online-Based Cross-cultural Study

Abstract

The study aimed to measure Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) and fear level towards COVID-19 and explore its cross-cultural variances in knowledge by sociodemographic factors among the general population of 8 different countries over 5 continents. It was a cross-sectional online survey. This survey was conducted in April 2020 among 1296 participants using the “Google Form” platform. Considering the social distancing formula and pandemic situation, we collect data using popular social media networks. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to explore the collected data on KAP, fear, and sociodemographic factors. Overall knowledge score was 9.7 ± 1.7 (out of 12), and gender differences (female vs male: 9.8 ± 1.6 vs 9.5 ± 1.9) were significant ( p = 0.008) in the bivariate analysis. Knowledge score variances were found significant in some regions by gender, marital status, and education qualification. The highest and lowest mean knowledge scores were recorded in the Middle East (10.0 ± 1.7) and Europe (9.3 ± 2.0). Despite having a high fear score (22.5 ± 5.6 out of 35), 78.35% of respondents were positively and 81.7% in a good practice level. Fear score rankings: Middle East (1st; 23.8 ± 5.5), Europe (2nd; 23.2 ± 5.8), Africa (3rd; 22.7 ± 5.0), South Asia (4th; 22.1 ± 5.7), Oceania (5th; 21.9 ± 5.8), and North America (6th; 21.7 ± 5.5). Fear and knowledge were not correlated. KAP and fear variation exist among geographical regions. Gender, marital status, and education qualification are factors in knowledge variances for some regions. KAP and fear measures can help health education programs consider some sociodemographic factors and regions during an outbreak of highly contagious disease and uplift a positive attitude and good practice. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11469-021-00638-4.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) toward COVID-19 Pandemic among the Public in Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…According to the results, the participants, regardless of gender or age, had a good understanding of COVID-19, in contrast to previous studies revealing relatively less knowledge about COVID-19 disease transmission [ 38 , 39 , 40 ], but similar to Kasemy et al’s research [ 41 ]. Moreover, there was no significant difference in knowledge as a function of education, age, or gender, unlike prior studies [ 13 , 41 , 42 ]. It was inferred that most participants had higher education levels, as there were only 9.71% participants without a bachelor’s degree; in addition, the general public’s awareness of the information provided by the TCDC was facilitated by its availability on various social media platforms and TV channels.…”

COVID‐19 and risk of retraumatization in adults with a past exposure to potentially traumatic events: A cross‐cultural exploration across Egypt, Germany, and Italy

“…The findings highlight differences for all the outcome variables. Although it is important to interpret these results with caution given the unequal sample sizes recruited from the three countries, these findings are consistent with the recent literature on COVID‐19, which showed that respondents from the Middle East expressed more fear when compared to their European counterparts (Ali et al, 2021 ). The higher the collectivistic orientation of a society, the higher the perceived vulnerability to infectious diseases.…”

Factors associated with COVID-19 fear among healthcare professionals in Bangladesh

“…A validated and previously employed “Fear of COVID-19 Scale” (FCV) was utilized to measure fear of coronavirus-19 [ 10 , 49 ]. This questionnaire is a single-dimensional seven-item, 5-point Likert scale, produced by Ahorsu et al [ 4 ].…”

“…Among other psychological responses to the current COVID-19 pandemic, fear is common and potentially distressful [ 10 , 37 ]. We can define fear as an adaptive emotion fundamental for survival, which distributes to prepare the individual for behavioural responses to potential danger [ 24 ].…”