Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Women in Kansas

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forward the challenge of dispersing accurate medical information to the public rapidly. Credible and non-credible sources may impact public reactions to the virus. The purpose of this study is to assess those reactions of women located in or near Kansas. A survey was conducted in July 2020 with questions on knowledge of COVID-19, attitudes and behaviors towards COVID-19, and primary sources of information. 305 survey respondents met criteria for further analysis, and descriptive statistical analyses were applied. Participants were generally knowledgeable of the pandemic, with a mean knowledge score of 11.40 out of 13 (SD 1.3). The attitude statement with the highest rate of agreement was that "social distancing is an effective way of controlling COVID-19 spread" (n = 265, 86.9%) and that with the highest rate of disagreement was, "I am not worried about my friends' and family members health" (n = 253, 83.0%). The mostimplemented behaviors as indicated by participants were avoiding contact with sick individuals and washing hands with soap and water often (n = 294, 96.4%), and the least implemented was avoiding meat consumption (n = 257, 84.3%). Finally, most participants indicated that health officials were their primary source of information (n = 215, 70.5%). Participants of this survey had fairly good knowledge of the virus. Attitudes of participants as a whole may be described as cautious without being overly fearful. Reported behaviors also align well with current public health recommendations. These responses may be reflective of where participants are receiving their information, which, for the majority, is from public health officials.

Impacts of the Pandemic, Animal Source Food Retailers’ and Consumers’ Knowledge and Attitudes toward COVID-19, and Their Food Safety Practices in Chiang Mai, Thailand

“…About three-quarters of the retailers had good knowledge of COVID-19 and its transmission and prevention. Additionally, the majority (80.6% and 81.9% in U/PU and rural areas, respectively) did not agree that ASF is a possible source of infection, reflected in their positive attitudes toward ASF consumption, which was consistent with a study in Kansas [ 27 ]. Regarding their knowledge and perspectives, they tended to avoid eating wildlife because of its possible risk of COVID-19 infection.…”

“…Fresh markets were categorized as the second-highest level of risk or intermediate-risk businesses, after crowded places namely exhibition centers and theaters, that required stringent physical distance regulations. To the best of our knowledge, knowledge and attitudes regarding COVID-19 have been evaluated in a variety of population groups and nations around the world, including health professionals, students, travelers, and the general public [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. However, little is known about the knowledge and attitudes of ASF retailers regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on their food safety practices.…”

Technology, transmission, trust, and tendency: Detecting trends in COVID-19 related fabricated content of virtual fact-check networks

“…The epidemic of COVID-19 exacerbated the difficulty of immediately disseminating correct medical information to the public. Both credible and unreliable sources affect the public's responses to the virus [17]. COVID-19-related YouTube videos indicate the frequency of various mental health problems during this time.…”

Studying U.S. college faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perceptions of severity, concerns, sources of information, preventive behaviors, barriers to work performance, and impact on work productivity

“…These findings add to extremely limited data about college faculty perceptions, concerns, and behaviors during the pandemic, but is largely consistent with data on U.S. adults. Nationally and regionally distributed surveys consistently report the majority (70.0% or more) of adults considered the pandemic as a serious threat, had significant concerns about the health of loved ones, and engaged in recommended preventive behaviors including social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing (Bakdash & Marsh, 2021;Hearne & Nino, 2022;Hill et al, 2022;Matthews et al, 2021;Wachira et al, 2022). Previous work also reports variations in COVID-19-related perceptions and behaviors related to age and gender.…”