THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES, IN PUBLIC OF PAKISTAN
Objective: To study the perception of COVID-19 and its prevention in the general public. Study Design: Cross-sectional study conducted using convenient sampling technique. Place and Duration of Study: In Islamic Republic of Pakistan, from 1st Apr to 12th Apr 2020. Methodology: An online que...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Army Medical College Rawalpindi
2020-04-01
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Series: | Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal |
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Online Access: | https://www.pafmj.org/index.php/PAFMJ/article/view/4186/2604 |
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author | Taaha Muddassir Mirza Rimsha Ali Huma Musarrat Khan |
author_facet | Taaha Muddassir Mirza Rimsha Ali Huma Musarrat Khan |
author_sort | Taaha Muddassir Mirza |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Objective: To study the perception of COVID-19 and its prevention in the general public.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study conducted using convenient sampling technique.
Place and Duration of Study: In Islamic Republic of Pakistan, from 1st Apr to 12th Apr 2020.
Methodology: An online questionnaire was made on Google Forms Inc. It was modified from an online ques-tionnaire available free on the internet. The sample size was 1042. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. Mean and standard deviation was calculated for continuous data and chi-square and t-test were applied for statistical significance between healthcare providers and non-healthcare providers.
Results: A total of 97% people thought that older adults were more likely to develop complications. Most of the participants thought that use of face mask (91%), washing hands (99.4%), avoiding close contact with sick people (97.8%) and not touching the face with unwashed hands (98.7%) should be used as a preventive measure. Majority were aware of the common symptoms of the disease. Statistically significant difference between some perceptions of healthcare providers and non-health care providers was observed with myths prevailing more in the health care providers, these are; rinsing mouth and nose with saline for prevention (59.9%) and skin rash (8.9%) and watery diarrhea (47.8%) as common symptoms. 85.2% of the participants believed that “kalonji” and 81.6% believed that antimalarials may be effective in prevention or treatment of the disease.
Conclusions: The participants showed a high level of knowledge regarding the pandemic but certain myths are also prevalent. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-17T21:19:12Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-28d56fe1afd843bd90f81ec7f0b736ab |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 0030-9648 2411-8842 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-17T21:19:12Z |
publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
publisher | Army Medical College Rawalpindi |
record_format | Article |
series | Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal |
spelling | doaj.art-28d56fe1afd843bd90f81ec7f0b736ab2022-12-21T21:32:15ZengArmy Medical College RawalpindiPakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal0030-96482411-88422020-04-01702338345THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES, IN PUBLIC OF PAKISTANTaaha Muddassir Mirza0Rimsha Ali1Huma Musarrat Khan2Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi PakistanBenazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi PakistanFoundation University Medical College, Islamabad PakistanObjective: To study the perception of COVID-19 and its prevention in the general public. Study Design: Cross-sectional study conducted using convenient sampling technique. Place and Duration of Study: In Islamic Republic of Pakistan, from 1st Apr to 12th Apr 2020. Methodology: An online questionnaire was made on Google Forms Inc. It was modified from an online ques-tionnaire available free on the internet. The sample size was 1042. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. Mean and standard deviation was calculated for continuous data and chi-square and t-test were applied for statistical significance between healthcare providers and non-healthcare providers. Results: A total of 97% people thought that older adults were more likely to develop complications. Most of the participants thought that use of face mask (91%), washing hands (99.4%), avoiding close contact with sick people (97.8%) and not touching the face with unwashed hands (98.7%) should be used as a preventive measure. Majority were aware of the common symptoms of the disease. Statistically significant difference between some perceptions of healthcare providers and non-health care providers was observed with myths prevailing more in the health care providers, these are; rinsing mouth and nose with saline for prevention (59.9%) and skin rash (8.9%) and watery diarrhea (47.8%) as common symptoms. 85.2% of the participants believed that “kalonji” and 81.6% believed that antimalarials may be effective in prevention or treatment of the disease. Conclusions: The participants showed a high level of knowledge regarding the pandemic but certain myths are also prevalent.https://www.pafmj.org/index.php/PAFMJ/article/view/4186/2604complicationscovid-19health care providersmyths |
spellingShingle | Taaha Muddassir Mirza Rimsha Ali Huma Musarrat Khan THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES, IN PUBLIC OF PAKISTAN Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal complications covid-19 health care providers myths |
title | THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES, IN PUBLIC OF PAKISTAN |
title_full | THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES, IN PUBLIC OF PAKISTAN |
title_fullStr | THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES, IN PUBLIC OF PAKISTAN |
title_full_unstemmed | THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES, IN PUBLIC OF PAKISTAN |
title_short | THE KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 AND ITS PREVENTIVE MEASURES, IN PUBLIC OF PAKISTAN |
title_sort | knowledge and perception of covid 19 and its preventive measures in public of pakistan |
topic | complications covid-19 health care providers myths |
url | https://www.pafmj.org/index.php/PAFMJ/article/view/4186/2604 |
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