Knowledge, attitude, and preventive behaviors of Hormozgan residents toward COVID-19, one month after the epidemic in Iran

AIM: COVID-19 has become prevalent in the world since December 2019. The further prevalence of the disease can be prevented by correct management of society and increasing knowledge, practices, and attitudes of the people. The present research aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors of people in Hormozgan in the south of Iran toward COVID-19. SUBJECT AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional research was conducted over 2 months (March 2020–April 2020). The online questionnaire comprised four sections: demographic information, knowledge, attitude, and behavior toward COVID-19. Knowledge included 36 items, attitude eight items, and behavior ten items. The collected data were analyzed statistically using SPSS ver. 22. The split-half method was used to test the reliability of knowledge and the estimated value was 0.84. That of attitude and behavior was estimated via Cronbach’s alpha and was found to be 0.81 and 0.75, respectively. RESULTS: A total number of 2024 participants with an average age of 33.94 years took part in this research. Of all participants, 64.4% were female. According to the results, 65.8% enjoyed a good level of knowledge and 34.2% enjoyed an average level. In addition, 63.2% demonstrated a good attitude and 36.8% an average level. A large percentage of participants (90.6%) had good practices and only 9.4% had an average level of practices. CONCLUSION: The present findings show that participants had a relatively good level of knowledge, positive attitude, and good behavior concerning COVID-19.