KAP-COVID(GLOBAL): a multinational survey of the levels and determinants of public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19

Masoud, Ahmed Taher; Zaazouee, Mohamed Sayed; Elsayed, Sarah Makram; Ragab, Khaled Mohamed; Kamal, Esraa M; Alnasser, Yusra T; Assar, Ahmed; Nourelden, Anas Z; Istatiah, Loai J; Abd-Elgawad, Mohamed M; Abdelsattar, Ahmed T; Sofy, Ahmed A; Hegazy, Doaa G; Femía, Victor Z; Mendonça, Adriana R; Sayed, Fatma M; Elmoursi, Ahmed; Alareidi, Alaa; Abd-Eltawab, Ahmed K; Abdelmonem, Mohamed; Mohammed, Omar M; Derballa, EzzEldeen A; El-Fas, Kareem A; Abdel-Daim, Mohamed M.; Abushouk, Abdelrahman I.

OBJECTIVE: The adherence to public health recommendations to control COVID-19 spread is influenced by public knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP). We performed this cross-sectional study to assess the levels and determinants of public KAP towards COVID-19 in a large, multinational sample. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study (survey). SETTING: The questionnaire was distributed to potential respondents via online platforms. PARTICIPANTS: 71 890 individuals from 22 countries. METHODS: We formulated a four-section questionnaire in English, followed by validation and translation into seven languages. The questionnaire was distributed (May to June 2020) and each participant received a score for each KAP section. RESULTS: Overall, the participants had fair knowledge (mean score: 19.24±3.59) and attitudes (3.72±2.31) and good practices (12.12±1.83) regarding COVID-19. About 92% reported moderate to high compliance with national lockdown. However, significant gaps were observed: only 68.2% knew that infected individuals may be asymptomatic; 45.4% believed that antibiotics are an effective treatment; and 55.4% stated that a vaccine has been developed (at the time of data collection). 71.9% believed or were uncertain that COVID-19 is a global conspiracy; 36.8% and 51% were afraid of contacting doctors and Chinese people, respectively. Further, 66.4% reported the pandemic had moderate to high negative effects on their mental health. Female gender, higher education and urban residents had significantly (p≤0.001) higher knowledge and practice scores. Further, we observed significant correlations between all KAP scores. CONCLUSIONS: Although the public have fair/good knowledge and practices regarding COVID-19, significant gaps should be addressed. Future awareness efforts should target less advantaged groups and future studies should develop new strategies to tackle COVID-19 negative mental health effects.