Social Media Use, Psychological Distress and Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Regarding the COVID-19 Among a Sample of the Population of Pakistan

Frontiers in Medicine

卷:8

Fizzah Baig¹  Mukhtiar Baig²  Jin Hui³  Manal Abdulaziz Murad⁴  Saba Tariq⁵  Abdullah Khalid Sagga⁷  Tauseef Ahmad⁸  Xuehong Qi⁹  Muhammad Rizwan⁹  Rozina Naz¹⁰ 

[1] Dental College, The University of Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan;

[2] Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Rabigh, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;

[3] Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China;

[4] Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;

[5] Department of Pharmacology, University Medical &

[6] Department of Psychology, Institute of Southern Punjab, Multan, Pakistan;

[7] General Dentist, Assistant Professor for Primary Health Care, Medical Program for Chronic Disease, General Department, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;

[8] Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China;

[9] School of Education Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China;

[10] Ziauddin Medical College, Ziauddin University, Karachi, Pakistan;

关键词: knowledge;    practices;    attitude;    COVID-19;    depression;    anxiety;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2021.754121

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This study was conducted to assess social media (SM) use, psychological distress, and knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among a sample of the population of Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Multan, Pakistan between April and May 2020. Demographics details, SM use, psychological distress, and KAP on the COVID-19 were investigated. A total of 800 respondents were analyzed out of which 33.5% (n = 268) were women. No gender-wise difference was found in the terms of SM use and duration of SM use. Women were prone to have psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and stress than men in the current COVID-19 pandemic. The mean knowledge score of men was significantly higher compared to women (18.69 ± 4.20 vs. 16.89 ± 3.04, p < 0.001), while the mean score of the attitude and practices on the COVID-19 prevention measures was significantly better in women (p = 0.012 and p < 0.001, respectively). The psychological problems such as anxiety (p < 0.001) and depression scores (p = 0.033) were higher among women than men. The stress score was also higher in women but not significantly higher (p = 0.079). The knowledge was significantly correlated with attitude, anxiety, depression, and stress. The regression analysis showed that the COVID-19-related KAPs are the predictors of psychological suffering of an individual. The female gender was positively associated with anxiety and depression. The SM use was the predictor of the stress. Male respondents had significantly more knowledge of the COVID-19 than female respondents, but women had significantly better attitudes and practiced the COVID-19 prevention measures. Gender is a significant determinant of psychological distress and KAP about the COVID-19. The government has already taken significant steps to limit the spread of the disease; however, much more effort is required to tackle this COVID-19 pandemic.

【 授权许可】

Unknown