A Cross-Sectional Study of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices concerning COVID-19 Outbreaks in the General Population in Malang District, Indonesia

Sujarwoto Sujarwoto, Holipah Holipah and Asri Maharani
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Sujarwoto Sujarwoto: Portsmouth Brawijaya Center for Global Health, Population and Policy & Department of Public Administration, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia
Holipah Holipah: Portsmouth Brawijaya Center for Global Health, Population and Policy & Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65142, Indonesia
Asri Maharani: Division of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Work, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Lack of knowledge often leads to nonchalant attitudes and improper practices that expose people to greater risks during a pandemic. Therefore, improving the general public’s knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) concerning coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can play a pivotal role in reducing the risks, especially in a country such as Indonesia with its scarcity of health resources for testing and tracing. Using the case of Malang District, this study set out to evaluate KAP regarding COVID-19 and its risk factors immediately after the Malang health authorities implemented various preventive measures. A population-based survey involving 3425 individuals was carried out between 1 May and 20 May 2020. Our findings revealed that less than half of the respondents demonstrated accurate knowledge (25.3%), positive attitudes (36.6%), or frequent best practices (48.8%) with regard to COVID-19 prevention. The results of logistic regression analyses showed that more accurate knowledge was associated with more positive attitudes and more frequent best practices (OR = 1.603, p -value < 0.001; OR = 1.585, p -value < 0.001, respectively). More positive attitudes were also associated with more frequent best practices (OR = 1.126, p -value < 0.001). The level of KAP varied according to sociodemographic characteristics, access to the services of community health workers, and mobile health technology for COVID-19 screening. Some global health proposals to improve health behaviors among the general public in the context of the scarcity of health resource settings are suggested based on the study findings.

Keywords: COVID-19; KAP; cross-sectional study; scarce health resources; district; Indonesia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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