Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) towards COVID-19 Pandemic in Rural Area

Background: SARS Cov-2 is a newly identified virus which causes respiratory and other systemic illness with the disease being named as COVID-19. It has been declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. The Indian government has taken extraordinary measures like suspending all transports, closing down the public places, increasing the medical facility, strict rules for maintaining hygienic practices. Aims: To study the knowledge and attitude of people regarding COVID-19 and the preventive measures practiced by the rural population who attending a hospital. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Study population: The population in this study is residents of Wardha District, Maharashtra State, India, who are living there for at least one year. 322 adults (aged 18 years and above) were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire regarding their knowledge, attitude and practices about COVID-19. Results: In our study (n=322), 50.62% were males, with 54.35% in age group of 18-30 years. The mean knowledge score was 12.48 (SD: 2.15, range: 4-15) suggestive a good knowledge score, attitude score was 16 (SD: 3.93, range: 10-32)- suggesting a positive attitude, practice score was 3.77 (SD=0.54, ranged 0-4), suggesting an overall 90% correct rate in the practices test. Regression analysis showed that male gender, unmarried people who had less education, less income and unemployed or unskilled worker had the lowest scores in all three domains. Conclusion: The rural people had a good knowledge about prevention of COVID-19. Most of them had a positive attitude towards covid-19 practicing preventive measures. Preventive strategies are the only means of controlling COVID-19.