Knowledge, attitude, practice towards COVID-19 pandemic and its prevalence among hospital visitors at Ataye district hospital, Northeast Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is currently a global health threat and public health emergency of international concern. Africa is the last continent to be hit by this pandemic and the population is still prone to misconceptions and may not take it seriously. In developing countries including Ethiopia, where trained human resources and equipment for the treatment of COVID-19 are scarce, working on prevention of the viral spread should be a priority as a feasible intervention strategy. The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) towards COVID-19 and its prevalence among hospital visitors. Methods Health institution based cross sectional study was conducted among 513 hospital visitors who are recruited by using simple random sampling technique at Ataye district hospital, Northeast Ethiopia from June 3, 2020 to August 10, 2020. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to obtain information related to socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge (11 questions), attitude (9 questions) and practice (9 questions). Oro-pharyngeal specimen was collected by trained healthcare provider and processed in a molecular laboratory. After extraction of viral nucleic acid, the Real-time fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kit was used for detecting novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Data was analyzed using bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression model with 95% CI (confidence interval). From the bi-variable analysis, variables having a P-value <0.25 were retained into multivariable analysis. From the multivariable analysis, variables with a P-value <0.05 was declared as associated factors. Results Majority (72.9%) of the study participants were male; and most were urban dwellers. From the total study participants, 17 (3.3%) were found to be infected with the virus. The magnitude of low-level of knowledge was 4.9%; and of the analyzed risk factors, female gender, age (category less than 16 years and category between 16 and 65 years), and usual alcohol drinking habit had statistically significant association with low level knowledge. The proportion of study participants who had low level of practice was 75/513 (14.62%). Family size, age category between 16 and 65 years, and low-level knowledge were associated with low-level practice. Conclusion Limited number of study participants had high-level knowledge and practice towards COVID-19; while majority of the study candidates demonstrated moderate level of knowledge and practice. Good knowledge, positive attitude and good practice can be a guarantee for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Hence, various measurements to combat the pandemic should be taken by different stakeholders including the community members, religious leader, health professionals and others.

Behavioural response to the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa

“…Literature on behavioural response to Covid-19 is fast emerging [13][14][15][16][17][18]. The limitations highlighted in the context of the pandemic literature prior to Covid-19 holds true for the more recent studies as well.…”

Knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices towards COVID-19 and associated factors among adult hospital visitors in South Gondar Zone Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia

“…As a result, visitors of healthcare facilities are one of the victim groups of population for COVID-19 due to close contact with suspected and confirmed cases of the disease. Occupation, sex, age, family size, marital status, residence, average monthly income, and alcohol consumption were some of the factors affecting knowledge, attitude and practices of COVID-19 [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Public Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice toward COVID-19 Prevention: a Literature Review

“…Moreover, even though they have inadequate knowledge, the proportion of the low level of knowledge were decreased. The reason might be since the current study was conducted after most of the population obtained information about the disease in several ways (Gebretsadik et al, 2021). Gebretsadik et al (2021) and Yoseph et al (2021) also stated that it might be due to the study participants getting access to the internet service, which helped them find information about the disease from several sources.…”

“…The reason might be since the current study was conducted after most of the population obtained information about the disease in several ways (Gebretsadik et al, 2021). Gebretsadik et al (2021) and Yoseph et al (2021) also stated that it might be due to the study participants getting access to the internet service, which helped them find information about the disease from several sources. Other studies showed that the excellent knowledge of COVID-19 might be due to the study respondents live in urban residence with higher education degree (Gao et al, 2020;Mohamed et al, 2021).…”