Department of Fisheries Resources Economics, Statistics and Extension Education, College of Fisheries, Ratnagiri (Dr. B. S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Ratnagiri), Maharashtra, India.
Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Ratnagiri (Dr. B. S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Ratnagiri), Maharashtra, India.
PLoS One. 2021 Dec 3;16(12):e0261055. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261055. eCollection 2021.
The knowledge, awareness, and practices (KAP) about COVID-19 among the marine fishers who are engaged in the high-risk occupations and depend on the vulnerable sources of income in the Maharashtra state of India, were investigated to understand the behavioral changes and vulnerability among the respondents because of COVID-19. Data were collected through an online survey from 1st July to 30th July 2020 during the first peak of COVID-19 in the study area by using the questionnaire. Authors based on the latest recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the questionnaire and covered the KAP aspects under study. The questionnaire was administered through Google form link and the link was disseminated through social media such as Facebook and What's App. The completed responses (n = 533) received from the eligible sample, excluding those outsides of the fisher community and duplicate entries were considered for analysis. Appropriate statistical tools were used to analyze the data. Among the respondents, 447 men (83.86%) and 86 women (16.14%), with a mean age of 45.4 years (M = 45.4, SD = 1.18). The results revealed that 70.92% of respondents perceived a low risk of infection because of COVID-19 with M = 1.77 and SD = 0.583, but authors found the perceived severity score high (M = 3.95, SD = 1.21) among the 60.97% of respondents. Around 95% of respondents were aware of the COVID-19, while almost all respondents knew the medium of infection and symptoms of COVID-19. The behavior of respondents towards COVID-19 infection was positive and was following sufficient precautionary measures suggested by WHO to protect themselves from COVID-19 infection. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that the demographic features of respondents like age, education were significantly contributing to the KAP of the fisher community. The results confirmed the importance of KAP which is reflected in the behavioral responses of the fishers while tackling the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The results regarding the risk perception, severity, KAP about COVID-19 provide a collective understanding of the emerging infectious disease among the marine fishers of Maharashtra state of India.
本研究旨在调查印度马哈拉施特拉邦从事高风险职业且依赖脆弱收入来源的海洋渔民对 COVID-19 的认知、意识和实践（KAP），以了解受访者因 COVID-19 而产生的行为变化和脆弱性。研究人员于 2020 年 7 月 1 日至 7 月 30 日在研究区域 COVID-19 第一波高峰期通过在线调查收集数据，使用问卷进行调查。作者根据世界卫生组织（WHO）的最新建议制定了问卷，并涵盖了研究中的 KAP 方面。问卷通过 Google 表单链接进行管理，链接通过 Facebook 和 What's App 等社交媒体进行传播。从合格样本中收到的完整回复（n = 533），排除了渔民社区以外的人和重复条目，用于分析。适当的统计工具用于分析数据。受访者中，447 名男性（83.86%）和 86 名女性（16.14%），平均年龄为 45.4 岁（M = 45.4，SD = 1.18）。结果表明，70.92%的受访者认为 COVID-19 的感染风险较低，均值为 1.77，标准差为 0.583，但作者发现 60.97%的受访者认为 COVID-19 的严重程度评分较高（M = 3.95，SD = 1.21）。约 95%的受访者了解 COVID-19，几乎所有受访者都知道 COVID-19 的传播媒介和症状。受访者对 COVID-19 感染的行为是积极的，他们正在遵循世界卫生组织建议的充分预防措施来保护自己免受 COVID-19 感染。多元回归分析的结果表明，受访者的人口统计学特征，如年龄、教育程度，对渔民社区的 KAP 有显著贡献。结果证实了 KAP 的重要性，这反映在渔民应对 COVID-19 大流行时的行为反应中。关于 COVID-19 的风险感知、严重程度、KAP 的结果提供了对印度马哈拉施特拉邦海洋渔民中新兴传染病的综合了解。
