Women's Knowledge, Attitude, and Perceptions Toward COVID-19 in Lower-Middle-Income Countries: A Representative Cross-Sectional Study in Bangladesh

Frontiers in Public Health

article

Saeed Anwar¹  Mohammad Jakir Hosen²  Yusha Araf²  Asir Newaz Khan³  Md. Asad Ullah⁴  Nur Hoque⁵  Bishajit Sarkar⁴  Riyan Al Islam Reshad²  Rahatul Islam²  Nurshad Ali⁶ 

[1] Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta;Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology;Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Brac University;Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Jahangirnagar University;Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science, University of Dhaka;Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology

关键词: COVID-19;    SARS-CoV-2;    women;    health literacy;    knowledge;    awareness;    preparedness;    attitude;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2020.571689

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global health emergency of unprecedented proportions. Countries around the world have taken extraordinary steps to control the disease. The preventive measures face challenges in low and lower middle income countries (LICs and LMICs). Especially the marginalized communities, e.g., women are the hardest hit of the virus. This study took Bangladesh as a representative LMIC and aimed to determine the level of knowledge, perception, attitude, and preparedness related to COVID-19 among the adult women in the country. Using a comprehensive questionnaire, we channeled a cross-sectional study among adult women in Bangladesh. Participant's self-reported data on the knowledge, attitude, and preparedness were tabulated and analyzed using suitable statistical tools. A total of 1,869 adults from 61 districts of Bangladesh took part in this study. Ninety seven percentage of the participants claimed to have heard of COVID-19 before it arrived in Bangladesh. Regarding the general knowledge related to COVID-19's causal agent, symptoms, and treatment, the positive response rate was nearly 80%, with a mean of 10.68 ± 1.72. Younger and educated women had better knowledge levels compared to the older and lower-educated participants ( p < 0.01). More efforts are required to educate women with older age and lower socioeconomic status. An overall positive attitude and perception were observed, although a significant proportion of the participants opined that the Government's efforts in controlling the outbreak were not adequate. Although the participants had a satisfactory level of knowledge and a positive attitude in adopting preventive measures against COVID-19, greater efforts are needed from the healthcare authorities and Government.

【 授权许可】

CC BY