Authors: Hina Ahmed , Aziza Ahmed , Muhammad Ahmed Saeed

Abstract

Background and Objective: At the outset of outbreak of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infection in Pakistan, there had been a lot of confusion regarding the preventive measures in general public. The objective of current study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding the home preventive measures against COVID-19 infection amongst smart phone users at the outset of outbreak in Pakistan. Methods: It was a cross-sectional online survey to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice amongst the smart phone users regarding the preventive measures against Corona infection. Total 388 questionnaires were submitted in one week in first week of April 2020. The data was collected through online questionnaire which were disseminated through WhatsApp groups. The completed questionnaires were compiled and analysed by using SPSS software version 21. Frequencies of responses were calculated. Results: A total of 196 (50.5%) participant were in the age category of 17–25 years with female predominance. Three hundred and 66 (94.3%) preferred washing hands with soap and water for 20 or more seconds, two thirds of the participants also agreed on the role of sanitizers. Only 159 (41%) knew what social distancing meant. Regarding the disinfection of eatable and non-eatable, almost half of the participants agreed to use soap and water. Considering the most effective disinfectant, 225 (43.8%) preferred Dettol. Surgical mask and N-95 masks were considered the effective ways to avoid droplet infections. Regarding the survival of the virus in different media, majority of the responses were completely ignorant. Conclusion: There are still gaps in knowledge, attitude and practices regarding prevention against Coronavirus infection at the outset of this out-break in Pakistan.

Keywords: KAP, Prevention, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Social distancing, Disinfection.