Knowledge and Attitude towards COVID-19: A Cross Sectional Study in Bangladesh through Phone and Online Survey
Anwarul Karim 1 2 * , Mastura Akter 1 3 , AHM Thafikul Mazid 1 4 , Orindom Shing Pulock 1 5 , Tasmiah Tahera Aziz 1 , Samira Hayee 1 , Nowrin Tamanna 1 , GS Chuwdhury 6 7, Afsana Haque 8 9, Farhana Yeasmin 10, Mashkura Akter Mitu 11, Farjana Yeasmin 12, Humayun Rashid 13, Ashish Kumar Kuri 1 5 , Arni Das 1 , Koushik Majumder 5 , Dipen Barua 14, Md Mahabubur Rahaman 15, Sanjida Akter 16, Nashid Niaz Munia 13, Jabin Sultana 17 , Faeeqa Usaila 3, Sabrina Sifat 18, Nishat Anjum Nourin 1 5 , Md Forhad Uddin 19, Mrinmoy Bhowmik 20, Tanvir Ahammed 21 , Nabil Sharik 22, Quddus Mehnaz 23, Md Nur Hossain Bhuiyan 24, Tahmina Banu 1 *
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1 Chittagong Research Institute for Children Surgery, Chattogram, Bangladesh2 Department of Surgery, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong3 Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong4 Department of Medicine, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh5 Chittagong Medical College and Hospital, Chattogram, Bangladesh6 Department of Pathology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong7 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh8 Department of Urban Planning and Design, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong9 Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh10 Department of Applied Food Science and Nutrition, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chattogram, Bangladesh11 Faculty of Agriculture, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur, Bangladesh12 Department of Zoology, Government Hazi Mohammad Mohsin College, National University, Bangladesh13 Chattogram International Medical College, Chattogram, Bangladesh14 Centre of Buddhist Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong15 Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh16 Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia17 Department of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chattogram, Bangladesh18 Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh19 Independent Researcher, Chattogram, Bangladesh20 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chattogram, Bangladesh21 Department of Statistics, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh22 Upazila Health and Family Planning Office, Sadar, Gopalganj, Bangladesh23 School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong24 Department of Surgery, Chittagong Medical College and Hospital, Chattogram, Bangladesh* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Aim: This study investigated the knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 in Bangladeshi adults by online and phone survey methods during the early stage of its spread.
Methods: Data were collected through phone calls (April 14-23, 2020) and online survey (April 18-19, 2020) in Bangladesh. The questionnaire had 20 knowledge questions with each correct response getting one point and incorrect/don’t know response getting no point (maximum total knowledge score 20). Participants scoring >17 were categorized as having good knowledge.
Results: The percentages of good knowledge holders were 57.6%, 75.1%, and 95.8% in the phone, online non-medical, and online medical participants, respectively. Most of the phone and online participants had good knowledge of the preventive practices of COVID-19. However, among the non-medical participants (both phone and online), the correct response rates were lower than 80% for the knowledge questions asking about the facts that - some patients may have no symptoms, diarrhea is a symptom of this disease and that it cannot be prevented by any currently available medication. Male gender, higher education, living in town/urban areas, good financial condition, and use of internet were positively associated with higher knowledge score among the non-medical participants. However, higher knowledge score was associated with having less confidence in the final control of COVID-19.
Conclusion: Our study identified some COVID-19 information that were less known among the participants and the potential factors that were associated with having good versus poor knowledge. Besides, this study sheds light on the attitude of Bangladeshi adults towards COVID-19.

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

J Clin Exp Invest, 2020, Volume 11, Issue 4, Article No: em00757

https://doi.org/10.29333/jcei/9143

Publication date: 04 Nov 2020

Article Views: 3940

Article Downloads: 841

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