Knowledge, Perception, and Attitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Peruvian Population
Background: Latin American countries have been profoundly affected by COVID-19. Due to the alarming incidence of identified cases, we intended to explore which psychosocial elements may influence poor adherence to the mandatory control measures among the population. Objective: We aimed to assess Per...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/10/807 |
| _version_ | 1797574719164121088 |
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| author | Jonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia Brenda Nadia Chino Vilca Rita Judith Ames Guerrero Carmen Paredes-Manrique |
| author_facet | Jonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia Brenda Nadia Chino Vilca Rita Judith Ames Guerrero Carmen Paredes-Manrique |
| author_sort | Jonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Latin American countries have been profoundly affected by COVID-19. Due to the alarming incidence of identified cases, we intended to explore which psychosocial elements may influence poor adherence to the mandatory control measures among the population. Objective: We aimed to assess Peruvians’ knowledge, attitudes, and vulnerability perception during the coronavirus outbreak. Method: We collected data from 225 self-selected participants using a web-based cross-sectional survey. Results: The overall respondents were between 18 and 29 years old (56.8%), female (59.5%), belonged to educated groups, and graduated professionals (69.3%), most of them. Logistic regression showed that Knowledge is highly associated with education (<i>p</i> = 0.031), occupation (<i>p</i> = 0.002), and age (<i>p</i> = 0.016). Our study identified that, although people reported adequate Knowledge by identifying expected symptoms and virus transmission ways in COVID-19 disease. There is a significant perceived susceptibility to contracting the mentioned virus, displaying stigmatized behavior (59.1%) and fear of contracting the virus from others (70.2%). Additionally, it is reported to lack people’s confidence in national health authorities regarding sanitary responses (62.7%), preparedness for the disease (76.9%), and the lack of adequate measures to deal with it (51.1%). Conclusion: We found that age, education, and occupation modulate Knowledge. At the same time, only age affected Perception and Attitude. Public policies should consider specific guidelines on knowledge translation and risk communication strategies for both containing psychological responses promptly and ensuring compliance with general control measures by the population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:26:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49a16388ef0547c8828887e9bb168b3a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:26:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-49a16388ef0547c8828887e9bb168b3a2023-11-19T15:40:00ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-09-01131080710.3390/bs13100807Knowledge, Perception, and Attitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Peruvian PopulationJonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia0Brenda Nadia Chino Vilca1Rita Judith Ames Guerrero2Carmen Paredes-Manrique3Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Señor de Sipán, Chiclayo 14001, PeruPsychology School, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04001, PeruPsychology School, Catholic University of Santa María, Arequipa 04001, PeruPsychology School, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04001, PeruBackground: Latin American countries have been profoundly affected by COVID-19. Due to the alarming incidence of identified cases, we intended to explore which psychosocial elements may influence poor adherence to the mandatory control measures among the population. Objective: We aimed to assess Peruvians’ knowledge, attitudes, and vulnerability perception during the coronavirus outbreak. Method: We collected data from 225 self-selected participants using a web-based cross-sectional survey. Results: The overall respondents were between 18 and 29 years old (56.8%), female (59.5%), belonged to educated groups, and graduated professionals (69.3%), most of them. Logistic regression showed that Knowledge is highly associated with education (<i>p</i> = 0.031), occupation (<i>p</i> = 0.002), and age (<i>p</i> = 0.016). Our study identified that, although people reported adequate Knowledge by identifying expected symptoms and virus transmission ways in COVID-19 disease. There is a significant perceived susceptibility to contracting the mentioned virus, displaying stigmatized behavior (59.1%) and fear of contracting the virus from others (70.2%). Additionally, it is reported to lack people’s confidence in national health authorities regarding sanitary responses (62.7%), preparedness for the disease (76.9%), and the lack of adequate measures to deal with it (51.1%). Conclusion: We found that age, education, and occupation modulate Knowledge. At the same time, only age affected Perception and Attitude. Public policies should consider specific guidelines on knowledge translation and risk communication strategies for both containing psychological responses promptly and ensuring compliance with general control measures by the population.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/10/807attitudesCOVID-19health communicationknowledgeperceptionpublic health |
| spellingShingle | Jonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia Brenda Nadia Chino Vilca Rita Judith Ames Guerrero Carmen Paredes-Manrique Knowledge, Perception, and Attitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Peruvian Population Behavioral Sciences attitudes COVID-19 health communication knowledge perception public health |
| title | Knowledge, Perception, and Attitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Peruvian Population |
| title_full | Knowledge, Perception, and Attitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Peruvian Population |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge, Perception, and Attitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Peruvian Population |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge, Perception, and Attitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Peruvian Population |
| title_short | Knowledge, Perception, and Attitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Peruvian Population |
| title_sort | knowledge perception and attitudes during the covid 19 pandemic in the peruvian population |
| topic | attitudes COVID-19 health communication knowledge perception public health |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/10/807 |
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