Did Iranians respect health measures during Nowruz holidays? A study on Iranians’ knowledge, attitude and practice toward COVID-19

INTRODUCTION: Since December 2019, the COVID-19 outbreak has affected almost every country in the world, including Iran. General awareness and commitment to recommendations made by health officials have important role in control of the outbreak. The aim of the current study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of Iranians concerning COVID-19 after Nowruz (Persian New Year Holiday) in Iran and identifying its determining demographic and socioeconomic factors. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was designed. We translated and culturally adopted Zhong’s questionnaire to Persian, which is designed to assess people’s knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19. We used online Google forms to send the questionnaire via social platforms throughout the country. A total of 1015 Iranians participated in the study. RESULTS: The mean knowledge score among our participants was 10.60, with an overall correct response rate of 88.35%. Higher knowledge score was associated with higher education, being a professor, and residing in cities. Lower knowledge score was associated with being unemployed, marital status other than single or married, and living in rural areas. Almost all of our participants had favorable attitudes and practices toward COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Overall, Iranians showed a satisfactory KAP towards COVID-19. We suggest more attention to informing people living in rural areas and unemployed, as they were related to more risky behaviors and had lower knowledge scores regarding COVID-19.