Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 in Iran

Background: Currently, prevention strategies are the only way to deal with the spread ofCOVID-19 virus. Disease control is the result of community adherence to these strategies.Acknowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19 are important for adherence to thesestrategies. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice of theIranian people towards COVID-19 and demographic factors related to it.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical web-based study wasperformed on 3736 people in Iran. A validated Iranian knowledge, attitude, and practices(KAP) Questionnaire about COVID-19 was used. Linear multivariate GeneralizedEstimating Equations (GEE) models were used to analyze data.Results: Most Iranian people had high knowledge (88.1%), the right attitude (91%) andgood practices (90.3%). In the multivariate models, factors related to better knowledgewere, age > 20 years (P <0.001), living in the urban area (P = 0.030), holding a master ordoctorate degree (P = 0.044), and a moderate financial situation (P = 0.001). Females hadbetter attitude (P = 0.035). Variables related to better practices were age > 20 years (P<0.001), and having a good (P = 0.003) or moderate (P = 0.038) financial situation.Conclusions: The participants had good knowledge, positive attitude and good practicesregarding COVID-19. However, this might not be representative of the whole Iraniancommunity; and therefore, continuous monitoring and emphasis on preventive measures in isstill necessary in the fight against COVID-19.

Keywords:

COVID-19 , knowledge , attitudes , practices , KAP , Iranian population