Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Covid-19 Among Primary School Students in Kedah, Malaysia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Since, children are affected by the coronavirus in the same way as adults, examining the children's knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) on COVID-19 would help in building a pandemic-resilient society. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 among primary school students. This online, cross-sectional study was conducted from May 18 to 20, 2021 among students aged 9 to 12 years old and having access to WhatsApp messenger on their smartphones. The study participants were selected from 17 primary schools in Kedah, Malaysia by convenience , and the Google form invitation link was shared by the schools’ guidance and counselling teachers. Analysis revealed higher females (53%) and majority aged 12 years (27.8%) out of 1207. 56% of respondents possessed good knowledge on COVID-19 (M=4.21, SD=1.16) with 73.75% overall correct responses. Children demonstrated positive attitudes (M=3.64, SD=0.67) but had a higher perceived risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 (M=3.60, SD=1.23). For practices, low scores were discovered on avoid visiting crowded places (M=2.51, SD=1.22). Knowledge has a significant effect on children’s attitudes (Beta=0.17, p<0.001) and practices (Beta=0.25, p<0.001). Comparatively, females scored lower COVID-19 knowledge than males (Beta= -0.01, p=0.65). While age was significantly associated with increased knowledge (Beta=0.13, p<0.001), whereof, year 6 students (12 years; M=4.69, SD=1.23) scored the highest. Since knowledge is a critical tool in comprehending any phenomenon, and influencing one’s attitude and practice towards it, much effort is warranted to enhance the effectiveness of government strategies and mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak.

Knowledge and attitude of school students regarding COVID-19 pandemic

“…19 A study conducted in Malaysia in 1207 shows that 56% of students had good knowledge with 73.75% of correct responses which is way more than the current findings. 20 Another study conducted in New Delhi shows that 39.6% of students had good knowledge and 60.29% of students had average knowledge which is way more that the current study findings. 21 As this shows that the current finding is not consistent with the others studies.…”

“…22 Attitude is also an important part of health promotion behavior, in this study the participant shows 35.66% of students had a favorable attitude towards COVID-19 which is way less than the study conducted in southern Ethiopia in 2021 which found that the 70.9% of the 422 of students had a positive attitude toward the COVID-19 and 86.5% in another study. 20,23 Attitude can be changed with an increase in knowledge and health-seeking behavior. The researcher conducted a brief session on the correct technique of hand washing, use of masks, and social distancing behavior to improve the attitude and practice of school students regarding COVID-19.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAPs) on COVID-19 of junior and senior high school students

“…For knowledge, scores above ≥ 70 % were considered good, 50% and 70% were considered fair, and less than 50% were considered poor. It is measured by 12 items 4-point Likert scale (Ganaprakasam et al, 2021). The mean scores of students' attitudes are divided into three levels: mean scores between 3.01 -4.00 are considered good, 2.01 -3.00 are considered fair, and 1.00 -2.00 are considered poor.…”

Aspects of knowledge, attitude, and practices about COVID-19 in basic education students: A meta-analysis

“…Experiments are fun for students because they allow them to expand their knowledge and satisfy their natural curiosity while helping them develop a more scientific mindset (Kurniawan et al, 2019). Six studies (Dubik et al, 2021;El Sayed & Mahmoud, 2021;Ganaprakasam et al, 2021;Getawa et al, 2022;Wen et al, 2020;Yesuf & Abdu, 2022) presented the practice of avoiding crowded places during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is 71% (95% CI: 24, 74) of the participants avoided the crowded places. However, fewer students practice avoiding crowded places than the study participants of Raquib et al (2022).…”

“…Table5shows the subgroup analysis of KAPs toward COVID-19 among various study groups. Studies conducted byGanaprakasam et al (2021) andXue et al (2021) focused only on the KAPs of COVID-19 among elementary school students Wen et al (2020). andHuang et al (2021) included elementary and high school students in their KAPs studies.…”