Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to Coronavirus disease 2019 during the outbreak among workers in China: A large cross-sectional study

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Sep 17;14(9):e0008584. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008584. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has recently emerged as a global threat. Understanding workers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding this new infectious disease is crucial to preventing and controlling it. This study aimed to assess KAP regarding COVID-19 during the outbreak among workers in China. The present study was part of a cross-sectional online survey study conducted based on a large labor-intensive factory, which has 180,000 workers from various Chinese provinces, from 2 February 2020 to 7 February 2020. KAP related to COVID-19 were measured by 32 items, each item was measured with an agree/disagree/unclear format, and only correct responses were given 1 point. KAP regarding COVID-19 were measured with 20 items, 6 items and 6 items, respectively. A total of 123,768 valid responses (68.8%) were included in the analysis. Generally, the levels of knowledge (mean: 16.3 out of 20 points), attitudes (mean: 4.5 out of 6 points), and practices (mean: 5.8 out of 6 points) related to COVID-19 were high. Only 36,373 respondents (29.4%) disagreed that gargling with salt water is effective in protecting against COVID-19. Moreover, older respondents had decreased levels of knowledge and practices related to COVID-19 (both P values for the trend <0.001), while better-educated respondents had increased levels of knowledge and practices related to COVID-19 (both P values for the trend <0.001). These results suggest that Chinese workers are highly aware of COVID-19, but health authorities still need to provide correct information on COVID-19 prevention and strengthen health interventions, particularly for older and less-educated workers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Betacoronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • China
  • Coronavirus Infections / pathology*
  • Coronavirus Infections / prevention & control*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities
  • Middle Aged
  • Pandemics / prevention & control*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / pathology*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / prevention & control*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Project Supported by Guangdong Province Universities and Colleges Pearl River Scholar Funded Scheme (2019) to CM, the Zhejiang University Special Scientific Research Fund for COVID-19 Prevention and Control (K920330111) to CM, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82041030) and the Construction of High-level University of Guangdong (G820332010, G618339167 and G618339164) to CM. The funders played no role in the study design or implementation; data collection, management, analysis, or interpretation; manuscript preparation, review, or approval; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.