Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of COVID-19 in the General Population of the Southeastern Region in Iran

Background: It is necessary to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic for good management and intervention. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the KAP of the public population regarding COVID-19 in the southeastern region of Iran. Methods: A self-constructed questionnaire based on the literature was developed. The items were asked from the participants via a telephone interview in Zahedan, Iran, during September and October 2020. This study evaluated the association of demographic and socioeconomic information using KAP scales. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20.00). A significance level of 0.05 was considered for the study. Results: A total of 524 participants accepted to have an interview via telephone in the study. About 17% and 10.10% of the participants had poor and excellent knowledge, respectively. Moreover, 72.9% and 66.6% of the respondents had good knowledge and attitude, respectively. The practice was good in 42.4%of the participants. Overall, 73.3% of the subjects had good KAP. Gender had a significant association with attitude toward COVID-19 (χ2 = 18.85; P < 0.001). Place of living did not have any significant association with all scales and overall KAP. Marital status had a significant association with attitude (χ2 = 15.89; P = 0.003), practice (χ2 = 9.60; P = 0.048), and KAP (χ2 = 18.64; P < 0.001) of COVID-19. Education had a significant association with attitude (χ2 = 19.58; P = 0.012), practice (χ2 = 20.26; P < 0.001), and KAP (χ2 = 28.98; P < 0.001) regarding COVID-19. Occupation had a significant association with knowledge (χ2 = 26.94; P < 0.001), practice (χ2 = 15.65; P = 0.017), and KAP (χ2 = 22.29; P < 0.001) regarding COVID-19. Conclusions: The majority of the participants had great knowledge, a positive state of attitude, and acceptable practice. Although the findings are reasonable, it is recommended that the public should proceed to reinforce knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19.