Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 among university students in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study

Faisal, Shah; Khotib, Junaidi; Zairina, Elida

OBJECTIVES: Pakistan has taken unprecedented measures to control the spread of COVID-19. Complete lockdown followed by smart lockdown and quarantine centres was established. Their awareness and attitude towards COVID-19 had an impact on the individual behaviour of the precautionary measures. The current study examined the knowledge, attitudes and practices of university students in Pakistan. METHODS: An online cross-sectional study was conducted among university students in Pakistan. A questionnaire containing demographic and KAP information related to COVID-19 has been created. RESULTS: A total of 358 students responded to the survey, and 353 participants completed the study. Among the respondents, 61.5% were male, 76.8% were single, and 58.4% enrolled in a bachelor's degree. The results showed that most of the respondents (68%) had good knowledge about COVID-19, while the overall knowledge score was 8.78 ± 1.63 (range 1-10). The majority of the respondents (90.9%) were aware of COVID-19, 95.8% knew the sign and symptoms, and 83% of them knew about its transmission. We found a significant difference in knowledge scores across education and area of study p<0.05. More than half (53.5%) of the respondents were satisfied with the facilities provided by the government of Pakistan. The average practices score among the students was 5.08 ± 1.312. A significant difference was found among practice score and area of study p<0.05. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the students have an adequate level of knowledge and are doing better preventive measures against COVID-19. Health education initiatives are required to ensure best practice among the high-risk groups.