Editor-in-Chief Hatice Kübra Elçioğlu Vice Editors Levent Kabasakal Esra Tatar Online ISSN 2630-6344 Publisher Marmara University Frequency Bimonthly (Six issues / year) Abbreviation J.Res.Pharm. Former Name Marmara Pharmaceutical Journal
Journal of Research in Pharmacy 2021 , Vol 25 , Issue 6
An evaluation of public understanding regarding COVID-19 in Sindh, Pakistan: A focus on knowledge, attitudes and practices
Narendar KUMAR1,Syed Azhar Syed SULAIMAN1,Furqan Khurshid HASHMI3
1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
2Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
3University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
DOI : 10.29228/jrp.84 Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a global crisis. Inadequate knowledge, inapt attitude, and malpractice may enhance the risk of disease. Therefore, we aimed to explore the knowledge and behaviors of the people towards COVID-19 in Sindh, Pakistan, that can further help the government to enforce the SOPs for better containment strategy. A cross sectional study was conducted in Sindh, Pakistan during the month of December, 2020 using convenience sampling method. A pre-designed and pre-validated online survey consisting of 30 questions on knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding COVID-19 was used for data collection. Among 1004 respondents, accuracy of knowledge response ranged from 20.7% to 95.2% and average rate was 62.2%. For attitude, the percentage of positive responses ranged from 16.9% to 49.5% and average value was 34.88%. The range for good practice was 15.0% to 91.4% and the average was 67.4%. The statistical analysis results showed the significant differences between the responses of each participant for knowledge, attitude, and practices towards COVID-19 (P = 0.001). Our study concluded that majority of people of Sindh, Pakistan have good knowledge, average attitude, and proactive practices regarding COVID-19 but still there is a need for implementing strategies for enhancing knowledge and practices. Keywords : COVID-19; knowledge; attitude; practice; Sindh
Marmara University