Knowledge, attitude and practise toward COVID-19 among patients presenting to five tertiary eye care hospitals in South India - A multicentre questionnaire-based survey

• Main Authors: Josephine S Christy, Kirandeep Kaur, Bharat Gurnani, Olivia M Hess, Kalpana Narendran, Anitha Venugopal, J Anuja, Divya Manohar, Ramalakshmi Raman, Rengaraj Venkatesh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020-01-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Ophthalmology
• Subjects: attitude; covid-19; india; kap; knowledge; multicenter trial; practice
• Online Access: http://www.ijo.in/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=2020;volume=68;issue=11;spage=2385;epage=2390;aulast=Christy

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) pattern towards COVID-19, among patients presenting to eye care hospitals during the last phase of lockdown period. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 15 to June 15, 2020 in five tertiary eye care hospitals in South India to assess the KAP towards COVID-19. Each of the hospitals belonged to one of the three different zones assigned in India based on number of infections. Red zones represent hotspots and orange/green zones represent regions with medium and lower caseloads, respectively. A validated questionnaire was administered through telephone and responses were recorded on a Google form. Results: Out of the total (n = 6119) participants, 3081 were from hospitals in green zone, 2110 from the orange zone, and 928 from red zone. Majority of participants were above 50 years of age (42%) and 15.54% were illiterate. The mean (percentage) scores of knowledge, attitude, and practice were 21.26 (82%), 9.37 (92%), and 10.32 (86%), respectively. KAP among patients more than 50 years of age and in illiterate individuals was significantly less (P < 0.01) when compared with all other groups. Participants from red zone had a significantly better attitude (P < 0.01) compared to other centers. Conclusion: Although the overall KAP regarding COVID-19 disease was robust (above 80% in all categories) in our participants, the high risk elderly population (>50 years) and illiterate individuals had a significantly lower KAP. These are populations in which education should be emphasized and appropriately delivered as a way to reduce COVID-19 risk.