Knowledge, attitudes and practices of COVID-19 among income-poor households in the Philippines: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThe presence of COVID-19 in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) is raising important concerns about effective pandemic response and preparedness in the context of fragile health systems and the pervasiveness of misinformation. The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of how COVID-19 was perceived by households experiencing extreme poverty in the Philippines. MethodsThis study was conducted in partnership with International Care Ministries (ICM), a Philippine-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that runs a poverty-alleviation program called Transform targeted towards extreme low-income households. We integrated knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) questions into ICM' s cross-sectional program monitoring and evaluation systems from February 20 through March 13, 2020. Frequencies and proportions were calculated to describe the respondents' responses, and the Kruskal-Wallis test and binomial logistic regression were undertaken to determine the socio-demographic characteristics associated with COVID-19 KAPs. ResultsIn total, 2224 respondents from 166 communities in rural, urban and coastal settings were surveyed. Although the survey was administered during the earlier stages of the pandemic, 94.0% of respondents had already heard of COVID-19. Traditional media sources such as television (85.5%) and radio (56.1%) were reported as the main sources of information about the virus. Coughing and sneezing were identified as a transmission route by 89.5% of respondents, while indirect hand contact was the least commonly identified transmission route, recognized by 72.6% of respondents. Handwashing was identified by 82.2% of respondents as a preventive measure against the virus, but social distancing and avoiding crowds were only identified by 32.4% and 40.6%, respectively. Handwashing was the most common preventive practice in response to COVID-19, adopted by 89.9% of respondents. A greater number of preventive measures were taken by those with more knowledge of potential transmission routes. ConclusionsThere is a need for targeted health education as a response strategy to COVID-19 in low-income settings, and it is important that strategies are contextually relevant. Understanding KAPs among populations experiencing extreme poverty will be important as tailored guidance for public health response and communication strategies are developed for LMICs.

<p>Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Toward Prevention and Early Detection of COVID-19 and Associated Factors Among Religious Clerics and Traditional Healers in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia: A Community-Based Study</p>

“…17 Furthermore, 47.8% practiced proper hand washing and only 25.6% avoided mass gatherings in the weeks before. This finding was much lower than studies in Ethiopia, 6,18 the Philippines 9 and Malaysia. 29 This may be due to the difference in the level of education, age group, information seeking behavior and access to information which could affect the level of practice.…”

“…The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed that basic disease prevention and control systems are insufficient in terms of human resources and laboratory testing capacity. 9 Being the most populous African nation, Ethiopia could certainly be associated with a higher risk of increased morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19. Thus, there is a need to examine knowledge, attitudes and practice, and associated factors towards the COVID-19 pandemic especially for religious clerics and traditional healers (THs).…”

Knowledge, attitude and practices related to COVID-19 among young Lebanese population

“…One nal parameter we looked at regarding knowledge and practices towards COVID-19 was the attitude parameter of how worried our participants were about getting infected. Indeed, we found that being worried about the possibility of being infected with the COVID-19 causing virus does signi cantly associate with higher knowledge and better practices as has been found elsewhere [27].…”

Association Between Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Towards The COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study in South Korea

“…It is implied that changing public behaviors and attitudes for COVID-19 prevention would require the promotion of knowledge, and if needed, correction of inaccurate and misguided information. Knowledge as a fundamental predictor of health behaviors has been validated in many public health areas [27,31,32]. We also stress that attention must be paid to those who showed particularly low COVID-19 knowledge, as they are less likely to perform preventive behaviors.…”

“…Behavioral factors toward COVID-19 are also unevenly distributed among people [26]. One study revealed that males, less educated individuals, and elders showed lower levels of COVID-19 knowledge and behaviors compared to their counterparts [27], and another study found that risk perception differed by one's social support [6]. Another study on Chinese undergraduate students revealed that gender, major and school styles affect student's attitude and practice [28].…”