European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE REGARDING COVID-19 AMONG RESIDENTS OF NEPAL”

Bipula Gaire*, Sandhya Basnet, Rushila Paudel Joshi, Monika Lama, Bibhav Adhikari, Nirsuba Gurung

ABSTRACT

Background: Global pandemic COVID-19 cases are increasing day by day which has created threats among people of the world. Being a least developed country and its open border with India, Nepal is becoming more vulnerable to COVID-19 cases. Despite the facts various strategies and measures are undertaken to lower the spread but to achieve an ultimate success against the ongoing encounter of COVID-19 in Nepal, people’s commitment towards the control measures is pivotal which is largely affected by knowledge attitude and practice of people. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID -19 among the residents of Nepal. Methodology: A cross-sectional online-based survey was undertaken at three selected provinces of Nepal i.e. Province 2, Gandaki, and Sudurpashchim Province. From each province, three districts were randomly selected, and then a proportionate stratified random sampling method was used to select 422 people from selected district. Self -developed questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics frequency, percentage and inferential statistics correlation, chi-square and, logistic regression was done through SPSS 20 version. Results: Out of 422 respondents, 236 (55.9%) had a low level of knowledge, 291(69%) had a positive attitude but almost all the respondents 420 (99.5%) had a good practice level. There was a significant correlation between knowledge, attitude, and practice (p<0.005). The knowledge level was significantly affected by the education level of respondents and information obtained from the website (p<0.005) at a 95% confidence level. The Attitude level is significantly affected by the sex of respondents, education level of respondent, information obtained from social media and level of knowledge with p<0.05. Conclusions: Though almost all of the respondents had good practice it is essential to improve the knowledge and attitude of the people regarding COVID -19 focusing on the gap, mainly on mode of transmission, and breast feeding practices.

Keywords: Attitude, COVID-19, Knowledge, Practice.