European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF MASK WEARING – AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

M. Ranga Priya*, R. Manivannan, R. Praveen Raj, K. Meiyazhagan, S. Mohan Raj, S. Arphan Mishra, M. John Kumar

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as a pandemic. Use of different types of face masks had been very useful in controlling the transmission. The study was planned to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of wearing face masks among students and general population using a questionnaire based observational study. A total of 981 people took part in the research. The average age of the participants was 15-42 years (range=15-60), with 722 (73.7%) men and 258 (26.3%) women. All the participants of our study, 981 (100%) were graduates. Majority of the participants (32.3%) accepted that it is necessary to use mask when talking at crowded place.The statistics show that out of 981 respondents,80.6 % believe it is necessary to use a mask in the current situation and 19.4 % believe it is not necessary to use a mask in the current circumstance. 76.1 % of the respondents correctly applying a face mask and 23.9 % incorrectly applying a face mask.Participants reported difficulty mainly in breathing, talking, and recognising faces, among other things, which are all substantial sources of discomfort for the participants.The reports show that the knowledge about wearing mask was good among the study population. More awareness must be generated among the community on the proper steps of wearing and disposing off a face mask to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Keywords: KAP, Wearing Mask, COVID-19, SARS CoV-2, Questionnaire, observational study.