Survey of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of the Elderly toward COVID-19 Pandemic in Al-Amara, Iraq

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, elderly people (those aged 60 years and above) are more susceptible to coronavirus infection due to altered immune system response and a higher rate of underlying comorbidities. The purpose of present study was to identify of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of elderly people in Iraq toward COVID-19 disease as a vulnerable group and to found out relationship between elderlies’ KAP and their socio-demographic data. An cross-sectional study 253 elderly people was carried out, through using a designed questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics, as well as the Gamma probability distribution model via a generalized linear model. The findings of study show a low in the mean scores of KAP of the study sample was 15.96 ± 2.99, 10.38 ± 2.18 and 10.35 ± 2.05 respectively, and there was no significant difference between the genders. There was a highly significant relationship among KAP through generalized linear model with regard to participants age, level of education and marital status (p < 0.05), but no significant association between the elderly attitudes and their underlying diseases. This is one of the few studies done to investigate the KAP of elderly people in Iraq towards the coronavirus pandemic. The findings show that public health education about the seriousness of the epidemic, as well as follow-up by all responsible agencies, was not effective and that these interventions should be developed to mitigate the pandemic effects.