Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Fear of COVID-19: an Online-Based Cross-cultural Study

Mohammad Ali^{1

2}, Zakir Uddin^{3

4}, Palash Chandra Banik⁵, Fatma A Hegazy⁶, Shamita Zaman⁷, Abu Saleh Mohammed Ambia⁸, Md Kaoser Bin Siddique⁹, Rezoana Islam¹⁰, Fatema Khanam¹¹, Sayed Mohammad Bahalul¹², Md Ahiduzzaman Sharker¹³, FMAkram Hossain¹⁴, Gias U Ahsan¹⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Uttara Adhunik Medical College and Hospital, Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
² Centre for Higher Studies and Research, Bangladesh University of Professionals, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
³ School of Rehabilitation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON Canada.
⁴ School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada.
⁵ Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, Bangladesh University of Health Sciences, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁶ Department of Physiotherapy, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
⁷ Department of Public Health, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, New South Wales Australia.
⁸ Short Term Support and Rehabilitation Services, Optalis, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, Maidenhead, UK.
⁹ Essential Healthcare for the Disadvantaged in Bangladesh Project, Disabled Rehabilitation and Research Association, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
¹⁰ Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
¹¹ Karoliniska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹² Department of Physiotherapy, Sundsvall Hospital, Sundsvall, Sweden.
¹³ Division of Public Health, Manitoba Health, MB Government, Manitoba, Canada.
¹⁴ Department of Physical Therapy, Citi medical services, New York, NY USA.
¹⁵ Department of Public Health, North South University, Basundhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

PMID: 34483782
PMCID: PMC8404540
DOI: 10.1007/s11469-021-00638-4

Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Fear of COVID-19: an Online-Based Cross-cultural Study

Mohammad Ali et al. Int J Ment Health Addict. 2023.

. 2023;21(2):1025-1040.

doi: 10.1007/s11469-021-00638-4. Epub 2021 Aug 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Uttara Adhunik Medical College and Hospital, Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
² Centre for Higher Studies and Research, Bangladesh University of Professionals, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
³ School of Rehabilitation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON Canada.
⁴ School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada.
⁵ Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, Bangladesh University of Health Sciences, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁶ Department of Physiotherapy, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
⁷ Department of Public Health, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, New South Wales Australia.
⁸ Short Term Support and Rehabilitation Services, Optalis, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, Maidenhead, UK.
⁹ Essential Healthcare for the Disadvantaged in Bangladesh Project, Disabled Rehabilitation and Research Association, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
¹⁰ Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
¹¹ Karoliniska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹² Department of Physiotherapy, Sundsvall Hospital, Sundsvall, Sweden.
¹³ Division of Public Health, Manitoba Health, MB Government, Manitoba, Canada.
¹⁴ Department of Physical Therapy, Citi medical services, New York, NY USA.
¹⁵ Department of Public Health, North South University, Basundhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

PMID: 34483782
PMCID: PMC8404540
DOI: 10.1007/s11469-021-00638-4

Abstract

The study aimed to measure Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) and fear level towards COVID-19 and explore its cross-cultural variances in knowledge by sociodemographic factors among the general population of 8 different countries over 5 continents. It was a cross-sectional online survey. This survey was conducted in April 2020 among 1296 participants using the "Google Form" platform. Considering the social distancing formula and pandemic situation, we collect data using popular social media networks. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to explore the collected data on KAP, fear, and sociodemographic factors. Overall knowledge score was 9.7 ± 1.7 (out of 12), and gender differences (female vs male: 9.8 ± 1.6 vs 9.5 ± 1.9) were significant (p = 0.008) in the bivariate analysis. Knowledge score variances were found significant in some regions by gender, marital status, and education qualification. The highest and lowest mean knowledge scores were recorded in the Middle East (10.0 ± 1.7) and Europe (9.3 ± 2.0). Despite having a high fear score (22.5 ± 5.6 out of 35), 78.35% of respondents were positively and 81.7% in a good practice level. Fear score rankings: Middle East (1st; 23.8 ± 5.5), Europe (2nd; 23.2 ± 5.8), Africa (3rd; 22.7 ± 5.0), South Asia (4th; 22.1 ± 5.7), Oceania (5th; 21.9 ± 5.8), and North America (6th; 21.7 ± 5.5). Fear and knowledge were not correlated. KAP and fear variation exist among geographical regions. Gender, marital status, and education qualification are factors in knowledge variances for some regions. KAP and fear measures can help health education programs consider some sociodemographic factors and regions during an outbreak of highly contagious disease and uplift a positive attitude and good practice.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11469-021-00638-4.

Keywords: Attitude; COVID-19; Cross-cultural study; Fear; Knowledge; Online survey; Practice.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing InterestsThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
a Level of knowledge according to classified knowledge score by geographical area (n = 1255). b Attitudes of the respondents towards COVID 19 according to the area of residence. c Practices of the respondents towards COVID 19 according to the area of residence

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Fear of COVID-19: an Online-Based Cross-cultural Study

Affiliations

Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Fear of COVID-19: an Online-Based Cross-cultural Study

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

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