Knowledge, attitude and practices about coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its spread among pregnant females in rural West Bengal, India


Article type :

Original Article

Author :

Sabyasachi Ray*, Jagriti Pandey

Volume :

8

Issue :

4

Abstract :

Introduction: In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, people should have adequate knowledge about cause of the disease, mode of spread and the protective measures against it. Basic protective measures against the Coronavirus disease have been laid out by WHO for the public which are practicing hand hygiene, social distancing and wearing a mask. Good knowledge status when coupled with optimistic attitude will lead to effective practice of the protective measures. Purpose: This study will assess the knowledge, attitude and practices about Coronavirus disease among pregnant females of rural West Bengal. It will help in finding the limiting factors and assess the association between knowledge and attitude, practices of the respondents. Materials and Methods: It is a hospital based cross-sectional study carried out in antenatal out patient department from 18 October, 2020 to 5 December, 2020. 500 pregnant women were enrolled through simple random sampling after proper informed consent. Results: Significant association between knowledge score and age group (p -0.0457) and literacy status (p -0.0105) was found. The mean COVID-19 knowledge score was 10.70 (SD:2.18, range :1-12) with an overall correct rate of 89.17% (10.70/12* 100). Significant practice of wearing a mask was 6.5625 [OR -6.5625(3.1603, 13.6385; p Conclusion: Practice of preventive measures reduces the chances of contacting the infection, thus reducing maternal mortality and morbidity. Practices of preventive measures can be further strengthened by improving the knowledge of the people thorough awareness at grassroot level.  

Keyword :

Attitude, COVID 19, Coronavirus, Knowledge, Practice.