Background:The COVID-19 pandemic is having negative effects on societies’ mental health. Both the pandemic and the measures taken to combat it can affect individuals’ mental health.Aims:The purpose...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0020764020927051

Levels and predictors of anxiety, depression and health anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic in Turkish society: The importance of gender.

In an effort to mitigate the outbreak of COVID-19, many countries have imposed drastic lockdown, movement control or shelter in place orders on their residents. The effectiveness of these mitigation measures is highly dependent on cooperation and compliance of all members of society. The knowledge, attitudes and practices people hold toward the disease play an integral role in determining a society's readiness to accept behavioural change measures from health authorities. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge levels, attitudes and practices toward COVID-19 among the Malaysian public. A cross-sectional online survey of 4,850 Malaysian residents was conducted between 27th March and 3rd April 2020. The survey instrument consisted of demographic characteristics, 13 items on knowledge, 3 items on attitudes and 3 items on practices, modified from a previously published questionnaire on COVID-19. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted. The overall correct rate of the knowledge questionnaire was 80.5%. Most participants held positive attitudes toward the successful control of COVID-19 (83.1%), the ability of Malaysia to conquer the disease (95.9%) and the way the Malaysian government was handling the crisis (89.9%). Most participants were also taking precautions such as avoiding crowds (83.4%) and practising proper hand hygiene (87.8%) in the week before the movement control order started. However, the wearing of face masks was less common (51.2%). This survey is among the first to assess knowledge, attitudes and practice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. The results highlight the importance of consistent messaging from health authorities and the government as well as the need for tailored health education programs to improve levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices.

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Public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in Malaysia.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Global efforts have been exerted to prevent the spreading of the disease through political decisions together with personal behaviors, which depend on awareness of the public. The goal of this study is to assess the knowledge, perceptions and attitude of the Egyptian public towards the COVID-19 disease. We conducted a cross-sectional survey about these points, which was distributed among adult Egyptians. Five hundred and fifty nine persons completed the survey. The mean knowledge score was 16.39 out of 23, gained mainly though social media (66.9%), and the internet (58.3%). Knowledge was significantly lower among older, less educated, lower income participants, and rural residents. Most participants (86.9%) were concerned about the risk of infection. While 37.6% thought that their salary will be continued if they become isolated, 68.5% believed that it should be continued during this period. About 73.0% were looking forward to get the vaccine when available. In general, participants had a good knowledge about the disease and a positive attitude towards protective measures. This knowledge is gained mainly through novel media channels, which have pros and cons. Although the government has taken major steps to educate the public and limit the spread of the disease, more effort is needed to educate and support the lower economic strata. If a vaccine or a treatment is approved, we recommend a government control over its use to preserve the rights of the vulnerable and needy groups.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10900-020-00827-7.pdf

Knowledge, Perceptions, and Attitude of Egyptians Towards the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

Background: Saudi Arabia has taken unprecedented and stringent preventive and precautionary measures against COVID-19 to control its spread, safeguard citizens and ensure their well-being. Public adherence to preventive measures is influenced by their knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the Saudi public, towards COVID-19, during the pandemic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, using data collected via an online self-reported questionnaire, from 3388 participants. To assess the differences in mean scores, and identify factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19, the data were run through univariate and multivariable regression analyses, respectively. Results: The majority of the study participants were knowledgeable about COVID-19. The mean COVID-19 knowledge score was 17.96 (SD = 2.24, range: 3–22), indicating a high level of knowledge. The mean score for attitude was 28.23 (SD = 2.76, range: 6–30), indicating optimistic attitudes. The mean score for practices was 4.34 (SD = 0.87, range: 0–5), indicating good practices. However, the results showed that men have less knowledge, less optimistic attitudes, and less good practice towards COVID-19, than women. We also found that older adults are likely to have better knowledge and practices, than younger people. Conclusions: Our finding suggests that targeted health education interventions should be directed to this particular vulnerable population, who may be at increased risk of contracting COVID-19. For example, COVID-19 knowledge may increase significantly if health education programs are specifically targeted at men.

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Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Toward COVID-19 Among the Public in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Importance People exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and a series of imperative containment measures could be psychologically stressed, yet the burden of and factors associated with mental health symptoms remain unclear Objective To investigate the prevalence of and risk factors associated with mental health symptoms in the general population in China during the COVID-19 pandemic Design, Setting, and Participants This large-sample, cross-sectional, population-based, online survey study was conducted from February 28, 2020, to March 11, 2020 It involved all 34 province-level regions in China and included participants aged 18 years and older Data analysis was performed from March to May 2020 Main Outcomes and Measures The prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and acute stress among the general population in China during the COVID-19 pandemic was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire–9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7, Insomnia Severity Index, and Acute Stress Disorder Scale Logistic regression analyses were used to explore demographic and COVID-19–related risk factors Results Of 71 227 individuals who clicked on the survey link, 56 932 submitted the questionnaires, for a participation rate of 799% After excluding the invalid questionnaires, 56 679 participants (mean [SD] age, 3597 [822] years; 27 149 men [479%]) were included in the study; 39 468 respondents (696%) were aged 18 to 39 years During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rates of mental health symptoms among the survey respondents were 279% (95% CI, 275%-282%) for depression, 316% (95% CI, 312%-320%) for anxiety, 292% (95% CI, 288%-296%) for insomnia, and 244% (95% CI, 240%-247%) for acute stress Participants with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and their family members or friends had a high risk for symptoms of depression (adjusted odds ratios [ORs], 327 [95% CI, 184-580] for patients; 153 [95% CI, 126-185] for family or friends), anxiety (adjusted ORs, 248 [95% CI, 143-431] for patients; 153 [95% CI, 127-184] for family or friends), insomnia (adjusted ORs, 306 [95% CI, 173-543] for patients; 162 [95% CI, 135-196] for family or friends), and acute stress (adjusted ORs, 350 [95% CI, 202-607] for patients; 177 [95% CI, 146-215] for family or friends) Moreover, people with occupational exposure risks and residents in Hubei province had increased odds of symptoms of depression (adjusted ORs, 196 [95% CI, 177-217] for occupational exposure; 142 [95% CI, 119-168] for Hubei residence), anxiety (adjusted ORs, 193 [95% CI, 175-213] for occupational exposure; 154 [95% CI, 130-182] for Hubei residence), insomnia (adjusted ORs, 160 [95% CI, 145-177] for occupational exposure; 120 [95% CI, 101-142] for Hubei residence), and acute stress (adjusted ORs, 198 [95% CI, 179-220] for occupational exposure; 149 [95% CI, 125-179] for Hubei residence) Both centralized quarantine (adjusted ORs, 133 [95% CI, 110-161] for depression; 146 [95% CI, 122-175] for anxiety; 163 [95% CI, 136-195] for insomnia; 146 [95% CI, 121-177] for acute stress) and home quarantine (adjusted ORs, 130 [95% CI, 125-136] for depression; 128 [95% CI, 123-134] for anxiety; 124 [95% CI, 119-130] for insomnia; 129 [95% CI, 124-135] for acute stress) were associated with the 4 negative mental health outcomes Being at work was associated with lower risks of depression (adjusted OR, 085 [95% CI, 079-091]), anxiety (adjusted OR, 092 [95% CI, 086-099]), and insomnia (adjusted OR, 087 [95% CI, 081-094]) Conclusions and Relevance The results of this survey indicate that mental health symptoms may have been common during the COVID-19 outbreak among the general population in China, especially among infected individuals, people with suspected infection, and people who might have contact with patients with COVID-19 Some measures, such as quarantine and delays in returning to work, were also associated with mental health among the public These findings identify populations at risk for mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and may help in implementing mental health intervention policies in other countries and regions

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Prevalence of and Risk Factors Associated With Mental Health Symptoms Among the General Population in China During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

Unprecedented measures have been adopted to control the rapid spread of the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic in China. People's adherence to control measures is affected by their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19. In this study, we investigated Chinese residents' KAP towards COVID-19 during the rapid rise period of the outbreak. An online sample of Chinese residents was successfully recruited via the authors' networks with residents and popular media in Hubei, China. A self-developed online KAP questionnaire was completed by the participants. The knowledge questionnaire consisted of 12 questions regarding the clinical characteristics and prevention of COVID-19. Assessments on residents' attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 included questions on confidence in winning the battle against COVID-19 and wearing masks when going out in recent days. Among the survey completers (n=6910), 65.7% were women, 63.5% held a bachelor degree or above, and 56.2% engaged in mental labor. The overall correct rate of the knowledge questionnaire was 90%. The majority of the respondents (97.1%) had confidence that China can win the battle against COVID-19. Nearly all of the participants (98.0%) wore masks when going out in recent days. In multiple logistic regression analyses, the COVID-19 knowledge score (OR: 0.75-0.90, P<0.001) was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of negative attitudes and preventive practices towards COVID-2019. Most Chinese residents of a relatively high socioeconomic status, in particular women, are knowledgeable about COVID-19, hold optimistic attitudes, and have appropriate practices towards COVID-19. Health education programs aimed at improving COVID-19 knowledge are helpful for Chinese residents to hold optimistic attitudes and maintain appropriate practices. Due to the limited sample representativeness, we must be cautious when generalizing these findings to populations of a low socioeconomic status.

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Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey.

Wei Luo

Papers

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey.