A Cross-sectional Study on Omicron - Knowledge and Practice among COVID Recovered Adults in Chengalpattu District

TK Raja; M Buvnesh  Kumar; J Divyaparvathy; S Sasithra

TK Raja Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education (CARE), Kelambakkam, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India.
M Buvnesh Kumar Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education (CARE), Kelambakkam, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India.
J Divyaparvathy Postgraduate, Department of Community Medicine, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education (CARE), Kelambakkam, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India.
S Sasithra Postgraduate, Department of Community Medicine, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education (CARE), Kelambakkam, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India.

Keywords: COVID-19, Knowledge, Practice, Preventive Measures

Abstract

Introduction: India is one of the top three countries in the world with more than 10 million confirmed cases. Ever since the emergence of this COVID-19 pandemic, many SARS-CoV-2 mutations have been identified all over the globe and the latest to this addition is the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Only when there is adequate knowledge about the pandemic, we can handle the situation with ease. The main aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of knowledge and awareness about COVID-19 among COVID-19 recovered adults in the rural population of Chengalpattu district and to assess the prevalence of standard practising methods followed by them.
Methodology: It is a cross-sectional study. It used a semi-structured questionnaire that had three segments like sociodemographic profile, awareness related to COVID-19 and practice related to COVID-19. Scores were given to knowledge and practice related questions and the cumulative score for the same was taken into consideration.
Results: 94 participants were middle-aged people with a mean age of 37.48 Â± 13.096 years. Overall, 68% of participants had good knowledge about COVID and its preventive measures and only 14.1% of participants followed proper practices with regard to COVID-19 and its preventive measures.
Conclusion: The gap between knowledge and practice is critical and needs special attention. Practice among the rural population can be improved with effective health education.

How to cite this article:
Raja TK, Kumar MB, Divyaparvathy J, Sasithra S. A Cross-sectional Study on Omicron- Knowledge and Practice among COVID Recovered Adults in Chengalpattu District. J Commun Dis. 2022;54(1):54-59.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202250

References

Harapan H, Itoh N, Yufika A, Winardi W, Keam S, Te H, Megawati D, Hayati Z, Wagner AL, Mudatsir M. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a literature review. J Infect Public Health. 2020 May;13(5):667-73. [Google Scholar]

World Health Organization (WHO )[Internet]. CoronaVirus Disease Dashboard; [cited 2021 Dec 18]. Available from: https://covid19.who.int/

Pandey S, Gupta A, Bhansali R, Balhara S, Katira P, Fernandes G. Corona virus (COVID19) awareness assessment - a survey study amongst the Indian population. J Clin Med Res. 2020;2(4):1-10. [Google Scholar]

Indiatvnews.com [Internet]. Omicron: third wave in India may peak in February, predicts study; 2021 [cited 2021 Dec 24]. Available from: https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/omicron-third-wavein-india-may-peak-in-february-subside-in-a-monthscientists-vidyasagar-iit-hyderabad-750718

Government of India [Internet]. India Fights Corona COVID-19 in India, Vaccination, Dashboard, CoronaVirus Tracker; [cited 2021 Dec 18]. Available from: https://www.mygov.in/covid-19

Health Protection Surveillance Centre [Internet]. Knowledge and beliefs towards universal safety precautions during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic among the Indian public. COVID-19 posters; [cited 2021 Dec 18]. Available from: https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novel coronavirus/posters/

Vijai C, Joyce D. Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) knowledge and awareness: a survey of Thiruvallur District, Tamilnadu. Shanlax Int J Manage. 2020 Jul;8(1):69-76. [Google Scholar]

Teferi SC. Knowledge, attitude, and practice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: a review. Int J Clin Exp Med Sci. 2020;6(5):104. [Google Scholar]

Kartheek AV, Gara KH, Vanamali DR. Knowledge, attitude and practices towards COVID-19 among Indian residents during the pandemic: a cross-sectional online survey. J NTR Univ Health Sci. 2020 Apr;9(2):107. [Google Scholar]

Pratinidhi SA, Sayyed AA, Tilokchandani MA, Malode SV, Bhalgat SS, Bhujbal CR. Awareness of COVID-19 outbreak in local population of Maval taluka in Maharashtra, India. Int J Res Med Sci. 2020 Jul;8(7):2378-84. [Google Scholar]

Puspitasari IM, Yusuf L, Sinuraya RK, Abdulah R, Koyama H. Knowledge, attitude, and practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: a review. J Multidiscip Healthc. 2020;13:727-33. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Maheswari S, Gupta PK, Sinha R, Rawat P. Knowledge, attitude and practice towards Corona virus disease (COVID19) among medical students: a cross sectional study. J Acute Dis. 2020 May;9(3):100-12. [Google Scholar]

Roy D, Tripathy S, Kar SK, Sharma N, Verma SK, Kaushal V. Study of knowledge, attitude, anxiety & perceived mental healthcare need in Indian population during COVID19 pandemic. Asian J Psychiatr. 2020 Jun;51:102083. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Tandon T, Dubey AK, Dubey S, Manocha S, Arora E, Hasan MN. Knowledge, attitude, and perception of Indian population toward coronavirus disease (COVID-19). J Family Med Prim Care. 2020 Aug;9(8):4265-9. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Suvvari T, Kutikuppala L, Kiran A. Knowledge, attitude, and practices toward the COVID-19 pandemic among the Indian general population: a cross-sectional survey. Int J Resp Care. 2021;10(1):88. [Google Scholar]

Wang X, Powell C. How to translate the knowledge of COVIDâ€19 into prevention of Omicron variants. Clin Transl Med. 2021 Dec;11(12):e680. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]