Rural and Female Patients with Old Myocardial Infarction Lacked Knowledge and Preventive Measures During the Beginning of the COVID-19 Epidemic in Chongqing, Southwest China

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a global threat. This study was performed to gain an understanding of COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices among susceptible individuals. MATERIAL/METHODS: Patients who had been diagnosed with old myocardial infarction were followed up via telephone survey based on an established follow-up system at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak (January 2020) in Chongqing, Southwest China. RESULTS: A total of 631 eligible patients participated in this survey, and 40.6% of the rural respondents did not know the transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2, which was higher than the proportion of urban respondents (40.6% vs 31.0). Rural residents had a lower rate of adopting preventive measures than urban residents, such as wearing masks (76.7% vs 90.1%), avoiding meetings and gatherings (58.6% vs 68.5%), and hand washing (56.0% vs 63.8%). A higher percentage of women than men did not take any preventive measures (11.3% vs 7.6%), while a lower percentage of women than men wore masks (77.7% vs 84.5%). Multiple logistic regression revealed that rural patients were more likely to lack knowledge about transmission (odds ratio (OR): 1.51). Rural patients had an increased risk of failing to implement protective measures. CONCLUSIONS: Female and rural populations lacked knowledge and failed to adopt protective measures during the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. Therefore, these populations may benefit from health education campaigns and policies.