Department of Statistics, College of Natural and Computational Science, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
Front Public Health. 2024 Feb 13;12:1286181. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1286181. eCollection 2024.
Scientific information on the knowledge and attitude of the community toward the COVID-19 pandemic is a vital step for effective control measures. This study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge and attitude of Hawassa city residents toward COVID-19 and the interaction among knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19.
A community-based cross-sectional study with stratified random sampling was used from June 2020 to August 2020. Five hundred and eighty-seven residents were selected for the study, which aimed to evaluate their knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19 using a standardized structured questionnaire. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews that strictly follow the WHO and the Ministry of Health Ethiopia guidelines for COVID-19 prevention. Attitude and knowledge were categorized based on the mean score value. Descriptive statistics and two independent multiple logistic regressions were applied to identify the possible determinants of knowledge and attitude using SPSS version 20 set at 95% CIs with a value of p of <0.05 considered statistically significant.
In total, 61.7% of the participants were knowledgeable about the virus and 65.9% had a positive attitude toward COVID-19. Educational level with the categories of second degree and above (AOR = 29.709, 95% CI = 1.239-712.55), first degree (AOR = 3.476, 95% CI = 3.278-22.02), certificate/diploma (AOR = 1.062-18.24, 95% CI = 1.062-18.24), and grade 12 completed (AOR = 1.903, 95% CI = 2.12-6.809); employment status of respondents who were self-employed (AOR = 9.545, 95% CI = 1.165-78.173) and employed respondents (AOR = 10.053, 95% CI = 1.783-56.673); reading interest with categories always (AOR = 34.45, 95% CI = 26.608-4462.226) and sometimes (AOR = 17.24, 95% CI = 17.213-1661.966); and habit of using social media with categories always (AOR = 38.708, 95% CI = 5.086-294.610) and sometimes (AOR = 3.432, 95% CI = 3.504-23.378) were the significant explanatory variables that were correlated with knowledge of the respondents.
Although the knowledge and attitude of respondents toward COVID-19 were positive, there is a need to use more effective strategies to improve their knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19, and increasing knowledge on preventive behaviors among the community was mandatory to attain better results. The educational level, use of social media, and reading habits of the respondents appear to play significant roles in determining their level of knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19.
了解社区对 COVID-19 大流行的知识和态度的科学信息是采取有效控制措施的重要步骤。本研究旨在调查 Hawassa 市居民对 COVID-19 的知识和态度水平，以及知识和态度之间的相互作用。
本研究采用基于社区的横断面研究，采用分层随机抽样方法，于 2020 年 6 月至 2020 年 8 月进行。选择了 587 名居民进行研究，旨在使用标准化的结构化问卷评估他们对 COVID-19 的知识和态度。数据通过面对面访谈收集，严格遵循世界卫生组织和埃塞俄比亚卫生部的 COVID-19 预防指南。根据平均得分值对态度和知识进行分类。使用 SPSS 版本 20 进行描述性统计和两独立多项逻辑回归，以确定知识和态度的可能决定因素，置信区间为 95%，p 值<0.05 认为具有统计学意义。
总的来说，61.7%的参与者对病毒有一定的了解，65.9%对 COVID-19 持积极态度。与知识相关的显著解释变量是教育程度，包括第二学位及以上（OR=29.709，95%CI=1.239-712.55）、第一学位（OR=3.476，95%CI=3.278-22.02）、证书/文凭（OR=1.062-18.24，95%CI=1.062-18.24）和完成 12 年级（OR=1.903，95%CI=2.12-6.809）；与态度相关的显著解释变量是受访者的就业状况，包括自雇（OR=9.545，95%CI=1.165-78.173）和受雇（OR=10.053，95%CI=1.783-56.673）；阅读兴趣的显著解释变量是经常（OR=34.45，95%CI=26.608-4462.226）和有时（OR=17.24，95%CI=17.213-1661.966）；使用社交媒体的习惯的显著解释变量是经常（OR=38.708，95%CI=5.086-294.610）和有时（OR=3.432，95%CI=3.504-23.378）。
尽管受访者对 COVID-19 的知识和态度是积极的，但仍需要采取更有效的策略来提高他们对 COVID-19 的知识和态度，并且在社区中提高预防行为的知识是取得更好结果的必要条件。受访者的教育程度、使用社交媒体和阅读习惯似乎在决定他们对 COVID-19 的知识和态度水平方面发挥了重要作用。
