Knowledge, attitudes, and perception susceptibility towards the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin American region

Article Sidebar

PDF Download
Published Apr 29, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v10i4.2728

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Submit your own article

Register as an author to reserve your spot in the next issue of the Medical Research Archives.

Author Registration

Join the Society

The European Society of Medicine is more than a professional association. We are a community. Our members work in countries across the globe, yet are united by a common goal: to promote health and health equity, around the world.

Join Europe’s leading medical society and discover the many advantages of membership, including free article publication.

Membership

Main Article Content

Zegarra-Valdivia J. A
Universidad Señor de Sipán, Chiclayo, Perú. Km5 carretera a Pimentel, Chiclayo-Perú
Chino-Vilca B. N
Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Perú.
Ames-Guerrero R.
Universidad Católica Santa María, Perú.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Latin American countries have been strongly affected by COVID-19. Due to the alarming prevalence of cases, we explored which psychosocial elements may influence poor compliance with mandatory control measures among the population.


 


OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the Latin American population's knowledge, attitude, and susceptibility perception during the early coronavirus outbreak.


METHOD: We collected data from 600 self-selected participants through a web-based cross-sectional survey evaluating demographic information. The respondents were between 16 to 77 years old. Most of the participants were female (n= 382), graduated professionals (56.8 %), citizens living in any country in South America (72.2%).


 


RESULTS: Logistic regression showed that knowledge is highly related with age (p=0.010*), attitude is related with marital status (p=0.017*), perception susceptibility is related with education (p=0.049*), marital status (p=0.001**) and occupation (p=0.001**). Our study identified that people reported adequate knowledge by identifying expected symptoms and the coronavirus transmission process. There is a significant perceived susceptibility to contracting the mentioning virus (57.7%), displaying stigmatized behavior (59.1%), fear of contracting the virus from others (70.2%), and concern regarding serious consequences after the COVID-19 disease (72.3%). Additionally, we found that people distrust the National Health administration's response (61.57%), preparedness for the disease (73.8%), and suggesting insufficient measures to deal with COVID-19 disease (61.3%).


 


CONCLUSION: Within the framework of government regulations, it is suggested that guidelines be considered to expand strategies and provide reliable knowledge to facilitate positive attitudes towards protection measures against COVID-19. Communication strategies would serve both to contain psychological reactions and the perception of risk of contagion and educational actions to ensure compliance with public control measures among the population.

Keywords: Attitudes, COVID-19, health communication, knowledge, perception, public health, primary prevention

Article Details

How to Cite
J. A, Zegarra-Valdivia; B. N, Chino-Vilca; R., Ames-Guerrero. Knowledge, attitudes, and perception susceptibility towards the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin American region. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 10, n. 4, apr. 2022. ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/2728>. Date accessed: 05 nov. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v10i4.2728.
ABNT APA BibTeX CBE EndNote - EndNote format (Macintosh & Windows) MLA ProCite - RIS format (Macintosh & Windows) RefWorks Reference Manager - RIS format (Windows only) Turabian
Issue
Vol 10 No 4 (2022): Vol.10 Issue 4 April 2022
Section
Research Articles

The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.

 

References

1. Sohrabi C, Alsafi Z, O'Neill N, Khan M, Kerwan A, Al-Jabir A, et al. World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). International Journal of Surgery. 2020;76:71–76.
2. WHO. Emergencies preparedness, response. Pneumonia of unknown origin – China. Disease outbreak news. 2020; Disponible en: https://www.who.int/csr/don/05-january-2020-pneumonia-of-unkown- cause-china/en/
3. WHO. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Reports. April 1 2020. Vol. 2019, WHO Situation report. 2020.
4. Zegarra-Valdivia J, Chino-Vilca B, Ames-Guerrero R. Knowledge, perception and attitudes in Regard to COVID-19 Pandemic in Peruvian Population. 2020 [citado 13 de mayo de 2020]; Disponible en: 10.31234/osf.io/kr9ya
5. De Zwart O, Veldhuijzen IK, Elam G, Aro AR, Abraham T, Bishop GD, et al. Perceived threat, risk perception, and efficacy beliefs related to SARS and other (emerging) infectious diseases: Results of an international survey. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 2009;16(1):30–40.
6. Smith RD. Responding to global infectious disease outbreaks: Lessons from SARS on the role of risk perception, communication and management. Social Science and Medicine. 2006;63(12):3113–3123.
7. van der Linden S. The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions: Towards a comprehensive model. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 2015;41:112–124.
8. Barbisch D, Koening K, Shih F-Y. Is There a Case for Quarantine? Perspectives from SARS to Ebola | Kopernio. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness. 2015;9:14.
9. Brooks SK, Webster RK, Smith LE, Woodland L, Wessely S, Greenberg N, et al. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet. 2020;395(10227):912–920.
10. Wang D, Zhou M, Nie X, Qiu W, Yang M, Wang X, et al. Epidemiological characteristics and transmission model of Corona Virus Disease 2019 in China. J Infect. marzo de 2020;1(1):1–6.
11. Lau JTF, Kim JH, Tsui H, Griffiths S. Perceptions related to human avian influenza and their associations with anticipated psychological and behavioral responses at the onset of outbreak in the Hong Kong Chinese general population. Am J Infect Control. 2007;35(1):38–49.
12. Lau JTF, Kim JH, Tsui H, Griffiths S. Anticipated and current preventive behaviors in response to an anticipated human-to-human H5N1 epidemic in the Hong Kong Chinese general population. BMC Infect Dis. 2007;7:1–12.
13. Zhong B-L, Luo W, Li H-M, Zhang Q-Q, Liu X-G, Li W-T, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey. Int J Biol Sci. 15 de marzo de 2020;16(10):1745-52.
14. 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 COVID-19 pandemic. Asian J Psychiatr. junio de 2020;51:102083.
15. Dryhurst S, Schneider CR, Kerr J, Freeman ALJ, Recchia G, Bles AMVD, et al. Risk perceptions of COVID-19 around the world. Journal of Risk Research. 2020;0(0):1–13.
16. Bish A, Michie S. Demographic and attitudinal determinants of protective behaviours during a pandemic: A review. British Journal of Health Psychology. 2010;15(4):797–824.
17. Janjua NZ, Razaq M, Chandir S, Rozi S, Mahmood B. Poor knowledge - Predictor of nonadherence to universal precautions for blood borne pathogens at first level care facilities in Pakistan. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2007;7:1–11.
18. van Bavel JJ, Baicker K, Boggio PS, Capraro V, Cichocka A, Cikara M, et al. COVID-19 pandemic response. Nature Human Behaviour. 2020;4(May):1–12.
19. Abbag HF, El-Mekki AA, Al Bshabshe AAA, Mahfouz AA, Al-Dosry AA, Mirdad RT, et al. Knowledge and attitude towards the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus among healthcare personnel in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. J Infect Public Health. 2018;11(5):720–722.
20. Blendon RJ, Benson JM, DesRoches CM, Raleigh E, Taylor‐Clark K. The Public's Response to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Toronto and the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2004;38(7):925–931.
21. Deurenberg-Yap M, Foo LL, Low YY, Chan SP, Vijaya K, Lee M. The Singaporean response to the SARS outbreak: Knowledge sufficiency versus public trust. Health Promot Int. 2005;20(4):320–326.
22. Di Giuseppe G, Abbate R, Albano L, Marinelli P, Angelillo IF. A survey of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards avian influenza in an adult population of Italy. BMC Infect Dis. 2008;8:1–8.
23. Lau JTF, Yang X, Tsui H, Kim JH. Monitoring community responses to the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong: From day 10 to day 62. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2003;57(11):864–870.
24. Lau JTF, Yang X, Pang E, Tsui HY, Wong E, Yun KW. SARS-related perceptions in Hong Kong. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005;11(3):417–424.
25. Wong LP, Sam IC. Knowledge and attitudes in regard to pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in a multiethnic community of Malaysia. Int J Behav Med. 2011;18(2):112–121.
26. Bischof E, Chen G, Ferretti MT. Understanding COVID-19 new diagnostic guidelines - a message of reassurance from an internal medicine doctor in Shanghai. Swiss Med Wkly. 24 de 2020;150:w20216.
27. Nwagbara UI, Osual EC, Chireshe R, Bolarinwa OA, Saeed BQ, Khuzwayo N, et al. Knowledge, attitude, perception, and preventative practices towards COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review [Internet]. Vol. 16, PLoS ONE. 2021. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249853
28. Zhong BL, Luo W, Li HM, Zhang QQ, Liu XG, Li WT, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: A quick online cross-sectional survey. Int J Biol Sci [Internet]. 2020;16(10):1745–52. Available from: http://www.ijbs.com//creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/