Gupta Preeti, Gupta Anshi, Dixit Sumeet, Kumar Hemant
Department of Ophthalmology, Hind Institute of Medical Sciences, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Department of Community Medicine, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2020 Sep 30;9(9):4769-4773. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1206_20. eCollection 2020 Sep.
First case of COVID-19 was reported in December 2019 and within a timespan of few months, it has become a pandemic. It has created havoc globally and India is no exception. Globally, it is emphasized that preventive measures play an important role in controlling the rapid spread of COVID-19. In India, 68% of population is rural and this population is going to play a crucial role in the containment of the pandemic. Realizing the key position of rural population in COVID control, this study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of rural population about the disease.
A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted on patients and their relatives from 1 April, 2020 to 31 May, 2020. A total of 372 participants hailing from rural areas were enrolled.
Most common source of information for the participants was through television (54.8%) and radio (49.2%). Only 77% claimed that they were using face mask and 72% claimed to be following social distancing. A large (60%) proportion of the participants did not know that COVID-19 could spread from asymptomatic patients. Education of participants was a key determinant for use of social distancing and face mask as a preventive tool. With increasing age, the practice of social distancing and the use of face mask were decreasing in our study.
Television/Radio channels form an important source of information and need to be used more effectively to educate the people about the disease and create awareness about effective preventive measures. People need to be educated about the role of asymptomatic carriers in spreading the disease.
2019年12月报告了首例新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）病例，在短短几个月内，它已成为一场大流行病。它在全球造成了严重破坏，印度也不例外。在全球范围内，强调预防措施在控制COVID-19的快速传播中起着重要作用。在印度，68%的人口是农村人口，这部分人口在遏制疫情方面将发挥关键作用。认识到农村人口在COVID-19防控中的关键地位，开展了本研究以评估农村人口对该疾病的知识、态度和行为。
于2020年4月1日至2020年5月31日对患者及其亲属进行了一项基于问卷调查的横断面研究。共招募了372名来自农村地区的参与者。
参与者最常见的信息来源是电视（54.8%）和广播（49.2%）。只有77%的人声称他们使用口罩，72%的人声称遵守社交距离。很大一部分（60%）参与者不知道COVID-19可以从无症状患者传播。参与者的教育程度是使用社交距离和口罩作为预防工具的关键决定因素。在我们的研究中，随着年龄的增长，社交距离的践行和口罩的使用在减少。
电视频道/广播频道是重要的信息来源，需要更有效地利用它们来教育人们了解该疾病，并提高对有效预防措施的认识。需要教育人们了解无症状携带者在传播疾病中的作用。
