Public Awareness, Individual Prevention Practice, and Psychological Effect at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Outbreak in China

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 has spread to more than 200 countries and territories. But less is known about the knowledge, protection behavior and anxiety regarding the outbreak among the general population. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based online survey was conducted in China and abroad from January 28 to February 1, 2020. Socio-demographic information was collected and knowledge scores, practice scores, anxiety scores and perceived risk were calculated. General linear model and binary logistic regression were used to identify possible associations. Results: We included 9,764 individuals in this study, and 156 (1.6%) were from Hubei Province. The average knowledge score was 4.7 (standard deviation, 1.0) (scored on a 6-point scale); 96.1% maintained hand hygiene, and 90.3% of participants had varying levels of anxiety. People in Hubei Province were the most anxious, followed by those in Beijing and Shanghai. People who had experienced risk behaviors did not pay more attention to wearing masks and hand hygiene. Conclusions: The public had high awareness on knowledge of COVID-19 outbreak, and a high proportion of people practiced good hand hygiene behavior. Many people claimed anxiety, especially in heavily affected areas during pandemic, suggesting the importance of closing the gap between risk awareness and good practice and conduct psychological counseling to public and patients.

Nationwide Survey in Greece about Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Preventive Behaviors for COVID-19 during the General Lockdown in April 2020

“…Respondents in our survey rated their mental health as worse (41.6%) to a greater extent than they rated their physical health (12.6%), when comparing periods before and during the lockdown measures. Similar findings were also identified in other studies conducted in China and Spain [15,16]. Loneliness experienced throughout lockdown measures and anxiety about financial issues can affect mental health during the restrictive measures [1].…”

Effect of Knowledge/Practice of COVID-19 Prevention Measures on Return-to-Work Concerns; Attitudes About the Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Survey on Supermarket Staff in Huanggang, China

“…Concerns about asymptomatic infection (85.01%) and employees gathering in the workplace (78.96%) were major reasons, which are consistent with the actual situation of asymptomatic infection ( 8 ). Many studies measured mental status using anxiety, depression, and insomnia scales in the early and peak of the COVID-19 outbreak and identified the psychological effects on different populations ( 14 – 18 ). However, our study was conducted after the peak of the outbreak when work began to resume, and the prevalence of those psychological symptoms would thus be lower wherein the value of analysis decreased.…”

Rural and Female Patients with Old Myocardial Infarction Lacked Knowledge and Preventive Measures During the Beginning of the COVID-19 Epidemic in Chongqing, Southwest China

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