Knowledge, attitudes and practices of rural population towards COVID-19 appropriate behaviour in pandemic situation: a cross-sectional study in central India

Abstract

Background: India is facing a third wave of infection of coronavirus. For controlling the pandemic, it’s very crucial that everyone should follow the control measures which is ultimately depended upon the factors like knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of people towards coronavirus according to KAP theory. At such a critical moment to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in India arises an urgency for understanding people's awareness of COVID-19. So, we plan to present a study in view of investigating the KAP for COVID-19 in rural populations during the outbreak of COVID-19 disease.Methods: A cross-sectional design with a cluster sampling method from the field practice area of a rural medical college was selected. Participants were above 18 years. Data collection was done after taking informed consent. Data were analysed with R studio software with appropriate statistical tests.Result: A good knowledge of COVID-19 was found in rural population. Majority of population has good knowledge about COVID-19 epidemiology, signs, and symptoms. Good knowledge corresponds to appropriate behaviour and proper practices in population. Overall participants were confident that India will win war against COVID-19.Conclusions: Our study findings suggested that the rural population of India with a comparatively high level of education, specifically Health care services people, had proper knowledge, cheerful way of attitude, and appropriately practicing measures towards COVID-19 during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 cases. Whereas age, gender, and socioeconomic status didn’t show any significant association with the knowledge score. We conclude that KAP towards COVID-19 by vulnerable populations warrants special attention for research.

Hidden Problem of COVID-19: Behavioral Surveillance and Its Preventive Measures Among Rural Adult Population in Tamil Nadu, India

“…Consistent with our findings, a study conducted by Panneerselvam et al in Tamil Nadu [7] and Kulkarni et al in Karnataka [14] reported reduced adherence to mask usage (ranges 11% to 23%) while going outdoors and the proper method (WHO) of wearing a face mask. In contrast to our findings, various studies conducted in India and China reported higher compliance with mask usage (ranging from 60%-75%) outdoors and following the appropriate steps recommended by the WHO (45 to 70%) [9][10][11][12][13]15]. These variations could be attributed to varying levels of awareness programs and public health campaigns regarding the disease and its prevention in different geographical areas.…”

“…Approximately 53% of the participants were female, and around 46% were employed, with 47% of the employed individuals having frequent contact with COVID-19. These findings are consistent with previous studies conducted in different regions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra [ 7 , 9 - 11 ], which also reported predominantly female participation (ranging from 51% to 62%) and a high percentage of individuals aged less than 30 years (ranging from 58% to 72%). However, Gupta P. et al [ 12 ] reported a higher proportion of male participants and an older age group (over 30 years).…”

“…Fever was the most commonly reported symptom, followed by cough, difficulty breathing, headache, and others. Similar findings, demonstrating knowledge levels of over 75% [7,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In contrast, a study conducted among vulnerable groups in Africa reported lower knowledge of COVID-19 and its preventive measures [16].…”