Military Knowledge and Practices in Relation to Preventing and Combating COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 was first reported in the city of Wuhan in the Chinese province of Hubei in December 2019 and is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. According to the Ministry of Health Mozambique registered the first case of coronavirus on March 22, 2020 and, up to the date of production of this research, had about 230 thousand cases. The modus vivendi of the military, poses a high risk for COVID-19 infection. Hence, there is a need to increase knowledge and improve practices regard to the prevention. However, no study that addresses this issue in the Armed Forces of Defense of Mozambique was found. This study aims to analyze the knowledge and practices of the military in relation of preventing and combating COVID-19. It was carried out at the Army Command, with a sample of 162 subjects selected for convenience. The subjects were submitted to a questionnaire about knowledge and good practices of prevention of COVID-19. Most participants had a high level of knowledge about COVID-19. A little over half of the participants tend to practices conducive to disease prevention. A considerable number demonstrated to have deviant practices in relation to prevention measures recommended by health entities, suggesting health education interventions aimed at this population segment, in particular, especially with regard to daily practices.