Knowledge, attitude and practice of wearing mask in the population presenting to tertiary hospitals in a developing country

BACKGROUND: In the era of COVID-19 where there is emphasis on the importance of wearing a mask, wearing it rightly is equally important. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of wearing a mask in the general population of a developing country at three major tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants of this cross-sectional study were patients and attendants at three major tertiary care hospital of Karachi Pakistan. Selected participants, through non-probability convenient sampling technique, were interviewed regarding knowledge, attitude, and practice of wearing mask using an Urdu translated version of a questionnaire used in an earlier study. Three summary scores (0 to 100) were computed to indicate participants’ mask wearing practice, technique of putting it on, and technique of taking if off. Collected data were analyzed with the help of IBM SPSS version 19. RESULTS: A total of 370 selected individuals were interviewed, out of which 51.9% were male and mean age was 37.65±11.94 years. For more than 90% of the participants, wearing a face mask was a routine practicing during the pandemic. The mean practice score was 65.69±25.51, score for technique of putting on a face mask was 67.77±23.03, and score of technique of taking off a face mask was 51.01±29.23. Education level of participant tends to have positive relationship with all three scores, while presence of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as co-morbid had negative impact on mask wearing practice. CONCLUSION: We have observed suboptimal knowledge, attitude and practice of wearing mask among the selected individuals. There is a continued need to spread awareness and educate general population about the importance of using a face mask, as well as the proper technique of wearing and taking off a face mask.