Knowledge, attitude and practices towards covid-19 outbreak in Maharashtra State

The knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19 play an integral role in determining a society’s readiness to accept behavioral change measures from health authorities. KAP studies provide baseline information to determine the type of intervention that may be required to change misconceptions about the virus. Assessing the KAP related to COVID-19 among the general public would be helpful to provide better insight to address poor knowledge about the disease and the development of preventive strategies and health promotion programs. Among the lessons learned from the SARS outbreak is that knowledge and attitudes are associated with levels of panic and emotion which could further complicate measures to contain the spread of the disease.

1. To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices towards Covid -19 outbreak, among the urban and rural residents of Maharashtra State 2. To create awareness regarding the Covid -19 outbreak 3.To associate the findings with the selected demographic variables.

A quantitative approach was utilized to achieve the objectives of this study. A survey is most appropriate as it allows large populations to be assessed with relative ease. In this study, a cross-sectional survey was deemed most appropriate to gather information on COVID-19. Data collection was performed online using the Google forms. The call for participation was made on social media. The descriptive and inferential statistics was used for data analysis.

Study participants overall KAP level towards Covid-19 was 23.31% of the respondents had good knowledge score, 99% of the respondents had good practice score and 38% of the respondents had positive attitude towards covid-19.

COVID-19 is a relatively new virus that has had devastating effects within the short time since it was first detected in December 2019. To date, there has been limited published data on population knowledge, attitudes and practices toward COVID-19, specifically in Maharashtra. The novelty of this disease, along with its uncertainties, make it critical for health authorities to plan appropriate strategies to prepare and manage the public. It is therefore of utmost importance that the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the population be studied to guide these efforts.