Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32437434›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in Malaysia.

Arina Anis Azlan, Mohammad Rezal Hamzah, Tham Jen Sern, Suffian Hadi Ayub, Emma Mohamad

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 397 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
397citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
82.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

397 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,040 citations in OpenAlex.

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337 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Arina Anis AzlanCentre for Research in Media and Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
Mohammad Rezal HamzahSchool of Human Development and Technocommunication, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Arau, Perlis, Malaysia.
Tham Jen SernDepartment of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0002-5360-2959
Suffian Hadi AyubDepartment of Communication, School of Arts, Sunway University, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0002-6303-9709
Emma MohamadCentre for Research in Media and Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0001-6076-9223
National University of Malaysia · MYSunway University · MYUniversiti Malaysia Perlis · MYUniversiti Putra Malaysia · MY

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In an effort to mitigate the outbreak of COVID-19, many countries have imposed drastic lockdown, movement control or shelter in place orders on their residents. The effectiveness of these mitigation measures is highly dependent on cooperation and compliance of all members of society. The knowledge, attitudes and practices people hold toward the disease play an integral role in determining a society's readiness to accept behavioural change measures from health authorities. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge levels, attitudes and practices toward COVID-19 among the Malaysian public. A cross-sectional online survey of 4,850 Malaysian residents was conducted between 27th March and 3rd April 2020. The survey instrument consisted of demographic characteristics, 13 items on knowledge, 3 items on attitudes and 3 items on practices, modified from a previously published questionnaire on COVID-19. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted. The overall correct rate of the knowledge questionnaire was 80.5%. Most participants held positive attitudes toward the successful control of COVID-19 (83.1%), the ability of Malaysia to conquer the disease (95.9%) and the way the Malaysian government was handling the crisis (89.9%). Most participants were also taking precautions such as avoiding crowds (83.4%) and practising proper hand hygiene (87.8%) in the week before the movement control order started. However, the wearing of face masks was less common (51.2%). This survey is among the first to assess knowledge, attitudes and practice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. The results highlight the importance of consistent messaging from health authorities and the government as well as the need for tailored health education programs to improve levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices.

Indexed as

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeAdolescentAdultAgedBetacoronavirusCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19Cross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMalaysiaMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsPneumonia, ViralSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID32437434
PMCPMC7241824
OpenAlexW3026091149

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.