Assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding COVID-19 and homoeopathy among the citizens of Delhi and national capital region, India: a cross-sectional online survey

Abstract

Background: Delhi and NCR of India is densely populated with access to an integrated health care delivery system, with a promoted preventive homoeopathic medicine for flu like illnesses. To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices to this unanticipated situation and infectious disease pandemic of COVID-19 continues to be a global and public health challenge.Methods: A survey was conducted. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in a sample of the residents of Delhi and NCR using a self-prepared pilot-tested structured format. The obtained data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: 925 people completed the survey with 55.5% of the study group being females. Mean knowledge score obtained was 7.57±1.41 while mean attitude score was 3.27±1.31. Majority of the respondents (86%) had an adequate knowledge about the disease in general and were optimistic about recovery from the disease. Gender had negligible impact on the average knowledge score, while the score differed significantly with education and occupation. In the absence of an available vaccine, 29.47% respondents considered prophylactic potential of homoeopathy.Conclusions: Results reveal adequate knowledge and practices in the educated residents but below average mean attitude score. Public has welcomed the governmental initiative of homoeopathic prophylactic, and their belief in its therapeutic potential furthers the studies to determine its role as an adjuvant. Further extensive cross-sectional surveys to cover various strata of population are required to assess the widespread pattern of KAP in the general population.

Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Toward COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), India

“…Knowledge is a prerequisite for adopting a protective mentality and behavior toward a prevalent illness. Studies from around the world indicate that mere knowledge of a disease does not influence the population’s attitudes or behaviors ( Saqlain et al, 2020 ; Shi et al., 2020 ; Suvvari et al, 2021 ; Wadhwani et al, 2020 ). In addition, despite adequate knowledge, the attitude was not always positive, necessitating additional education to explain the importance of developing a positive attitude and engaging in ongoing preventative practices aimed at reducing the incidence of HIV infection and transmission ( Nwagbara et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Such confusion was also revealed about the requirement for hospitalization in each case. It was understandable that studies conducted during the early phase of the lockdown also showed such a lack of knowledge ( Wadhwani et al, 2020 ). At that time, even the medical personnel and hospitals were unclear about their roles.…”

“…Studies were conducted to assess the psychological responses of HCWs during the epidemic, determine the stressors and identify possible ways to cope with the unwarranted situation (Peng et al, 2020; Slama et al, 2021). Such studies have also been conducted in India in different regions and also among the population of different professions, for example, health care workers, medical students, etc (Agarwal et al, 2020; Dkhar et al, 2020; Gopalakrishnan et al, 2021; Maheshwari et al, 2020; Padmanaban et al, 2021; Wadhwani et al, 2020). A similar cross-sectional study for a sample of 1,292 respondents drawn from the Indian population revealed 81% of the respondents had average knowledge of the virus, which was slightly higher than the findings of this study Upon comparing the attitudes scores of various studies, it was discovered that 77% of the respondents in the Indian population have average attitudes and 83.5% of the respondents showed good practices scores, whereas in this study, approximately 91% of respondents had average attitudes and approximately 95.2% of respondents admitted to having followed the practice of social distancing.…”

“…This virus has caused numerous illnesses and deaths since then ( WHO, 2020a ). The International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) an international emergency of public health concern on January 30, 2020 ( Wadhwani et al, 2020 ). The World Health Organization changed this status to pandemic on March 11, 2020, when the virus had spread to 114 countries ( WHO, 2020e ).…”

Generalizability of Homeopathic Prognostic Factor Research Outcome in COVID-19 Treatment: Comparison of Data

“…However, data collection of COVID-19 cases in various projects worldwide showed that only a few medicines were frequently used. 1 2 3 4 5 6 These medicines were: Arsenicum album (Ars) , Belladonna (Bell) , Bryonia (Bry) , Gelsemium (Gels) , Hepar sulphuris (Hep) , Magnesia muriatica (Mag-m) , Nux vomica (Nux-v) , Phosphorus (Phos), and Pulsatilla (Puls) . Some other medicines, such as Mercurius solubilis (Merc) , were used by a specific group of doctors but by few others.…”