TITLE:
Knowledge and Preventive Practice during COVID-19 Pandemic in Bagmati Province, Nepal
AUTHORS:
Gita Shrestha, Bharat Negi, Minato Nakazawa
KEYWORDS:
COVID-19, Knowledge, Nepal, Pandemic, Practice
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.11 No.7,
July
17,
2023
ABSTRACT: Introduction: COVID-19 has become a global public health concern. In Nepal, the government has imposed lockdown, school closures, non-pharmacological interventions, isolation, and quarantine. People were asked to accept self-care interventions. However, the effectiveness of these preventive measures depends on the knowledge and practice of an individual. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between knowledge and practice among Bagmati province residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online Google Form questionnaire. A total of 296 participants completed the surveys on social media, particularly Facebook. To assess the factors associated with knowledge and practices toward COVID-19, logistic regression analysis was applied. Results: The total scores of knowledge and practice were 7.62 ± 2.06 and 11 ± 1.91, respectively. Results showed that education, people having a medical background, and occupation were significantly associated with knowledge. While urban residence, older age, and living in a rental with a shared room were significantly associated with practice. Conclusions: People with higher education, medical backgrounds, and household workers had high knowledge about COVID-19; however, knowledge was not associated with practice. There was a gap between knowledge and practice.