Department of Statistics, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh.
Medical Center, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh.
PLoS One. 2020 Dec 9;15(12):e0243410. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243410. eCollection 2020.
Until now, no vaccine or effective drug is available for the control, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19. Preventive measures are the only ways to be protected from the disease and knowledge of the people about the preventive measures is a vital matter.
The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge of the general people in Rajshahi district, Bangladesh regarding the COVID-19 preventive measures.
This cross sectional study was conducted from March 10 to April 25, 2020. Data were collected with a semi-structured questionnaire from 436 adult respondents selected by using a mixed sampling technique. Frequency analysis, chi-square test, and logistic regression model were utilized in this study. SPSS (IBM, Version 22) was used for data analysis. 95% confidence interval and p-value = 0.05 were accepted for statistical significance.
Only 21.6% of the respondents had good knowledge of the COVID-19 preventive measures. The highest 67.2% of them knew that washing hands with soap could prevent the disease, but contrarily, the highest 72.5% did not know that avoidance of touching mouth, nose, and eyes without washing hands was a preventive measure. Only 28.4% and 36.9% of the respondents knew that maintaining physical distancing and avoiding mass gatherings were measures of prevention of COVID-19 respectively. The younger age (≤25 years), low family income (≤15,000 Bangladeshi Taka (BDT), occupation others than business and service, and nuclear family had the lower odds of having no/less knowledge about the preventive measures.
The knowledge level of the general people regarding prevention of COVID-19 was alarmingly low in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh, health policy makers and donor agencies should consider the findings and take immediate steps for improving knowledge of the public about prevention of the disease.
到目前为止，还没有针对 COVID-19 的控制、预防和治疗的疫苗或有效药物。预防措施是免受该疾病侵害的唯一途径，人们对预防措施的了解是至关重要的。
本研究旨在评估孟加拉国拉杰沙希地区的普通民众对 COVID-19 预防措施的了解程度。
这是一项横断面研究，于 2020 年 3 月 10 日至 4 月 25 日进行。使用混合抽样技术，从 436 名成年受访者中收集了一份半结构化问卷数据。本研究使用了频率分析、卡方检验和逻辑回归模型。数据分析使用了 SPSS（IBM，版本 22）。接受 95%置信区间和 p 值=0.05 的统计显著性。
仅有 21.6%的受访者对 COVID-19 预防措施有较好的了解。其中，有 67.2%的人最高知道用肥皂洗手可以预防疾病，但相反，有 72.5%的人最高不知道避免不洗手触摸口、鼻和眼睛是预防措施之一。只有 28.4%和 36.9%的受访者分别知道保持身体距离和避免人群聚集是预防 COVID-19 的措施。年龄较小（≤25 岁）、家庭收入较低（≤15000 孟加拉塔卡（BDT））、职业非商业和服务业、核心家庭的受访者，对预防措施的了解程度较低的可能性较低。
孟加拉国普通民众对 COVID-19 预防措施的了解程度令人震惊地低。孟加拉国政府、卫生政策制定者和捐助机构应考虑这些发现，并立即采取措施，提高公众对预防该疾病的认识。
