Knowledge, attitude and precautionary measures regarding Covid-19 among mothers in a tertiary care hospital: Cross-sectional study

• Published in: Halo 194 Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 53 - 59
• Main Author: Kumar, Kamalakannan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: City Medical emergency department, Belgrade 2022
• Subjects: attitude; covid-19; knowledge; pandemic
• DOI: 10.5937/halo28-37737
• EISSN: 2334-6477

Introduction Knowledge, attitude and precautionary measures regarding COVID-19 among mothers play an important role in reducing the spread of the infection and helping control the pandemic. It also provides insight into the role of the media in controlling the pandemic. Objective To assess knowledge, attitude and precaution measures (KAP) regarding COVID-19 among mothers in a tertiary care hospital. Methodology This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study regarding COVID-19 which was conducted at a tertiary care obstetric facility in India among 100 consenting mothers. The consenting mothers were assessed for demographic data and KAP scores (Knowledge - 8 questions, Attitude - 7 questions, Precautionary measures - 5 questions). Results A total of 100 mothers participated in the study. 21% of the mothers were less than 25 years of age, 67% of them were between the ages of 25 and 29 and the remaining 12% were between the ages of 30 and 35. The participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire on COVID-19 from which their knowledge was assessed. Common questions were about the type of disease, the mode of transmission and the symptoms. Concerning the current stage of distribution of COVID-19, the majority of the mothers stated that it was a pandemic (81%). Regarding the type of disease, the majority of the mothers stated that it was a communicable disease (79%). When enquired about the symptoms of the disease, the majority of the mothers stated fever (97%), cough (98%), and breathlessness (97%). All of the mothers (100%) agreed that the delivery of the baby should be performed at a hospital if they contracted COVID-19. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the majority of the mothers had satisfactory knowledge, a positive attitude and were applying appropriate precautionary measures to protect themselves from COVID-19.