Indian Journal of Ophthalmology

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year
: 2020  |  Volume : 68  |  Issue : 11  |  Page : 2385--2390

Knowledge, attitude and practise toward COVID-19 among patients presenting to five tertiary eye care hospitals in South India - A multicentre questionnaire-based survey


Josephine S Christy1, Kirandeep Kaur2, Bharat Gurnani1, Olivia M Hess3, Kalpana Narendran4, Anitha Venugopal5, J Anuja6, Divya Manohar7, Ramalakshmi Raman8, Rengaraj Venkatesh9 
1 Department of Cornea and Refractive Services, Aravind Eye Hospital (AEH), Pondicherry, India
2 Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus AEH Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India
3 Stanford University School of Medicine, California, USA
4 AEH Coimbatore, India
5 AEH Tirunelveli, India
6 AEH Salem, India
7 AEH Chennai, India
8 Department of Biostatistics, AEH Madurai, India
9 Department of Glaucoma, Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, India

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Rengaraj Venkatesh
Aravind Eye Hospital and Post Graduate Institute of Ophthalmology, Cuddalore Road, Thavalakuppam, Pondicherry - 605 007
India

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) pattern towards COVID-19, among patients presenting to eye care hospitals during the last phase of lockdown period. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 15 to June 15, 2020 in five tertiary eye care hospitals in South India to assess the KAP towards COVID-19. Each of the hospitals belonged to one of the three different zones assigned in India based on number of infections. Red zones represent hotspots and orange/green zones represent regions with medium and lower caseloads, respectively. A validated questionnaire was administered through telephone and responses were recorded on a Google form. Results: Out of the total (n = 6119) participants, 3081 were from hospitals in green zone, 2110 from the orange zone, and 928 from red zone. Majority of participants were above 50 years of age (42%) and 15.54% were illiterate. The mean (percentage) scores of knowledge, attitude, and practice were 21.26 (82%), 9.37 (92%), and 10.32 (86%), respectively. KAP among patients more than 50 years of age and in illiterate individuals was significantly less (P < 0.01) when compared with all other groups. Participants from red zone had a significantly better attitude (P < 0.01) compared to other centers. Conclusion: Although the overall KAP regarding COVID-19 disease was robust (above 80% in all categories) in our participants, the high risk elderly population (>50 years) and illiterate individuals had a significantly lower KAP. These are populations in which education should be emphasized and appropriately delivered as a way to reduce COVID-19 risk.


How to cite this article:
Christy JS, Kaur K, Gurnani B, Hess OM, Narendran K, Venugopal A, Anuja J, Manohar D, Raman R, Venkatesh R. Knowledge, attitude and practise toward COVID-19 among patients presenting to five tertiary eye care hospitals in South India - A multicentre questionnaire-based survey.Indian J Ophthalmol 2020;68:2385-2390


How to cite this URL:
Christy JS, Kaur K, Gurnani B, Hess OM, Narendran K, Venugopal A, Anuja J, Manohar D, Raman R, Venkatesh R. Knowledge, attitude and practise toward COVID-19 among patients presenting to five tertiary eye care hospitals in South India - A multicentre questionnaire-based survey. Indian J Ophthalmol [serial online] 2020 [cited 2024 Mar 29 ];68:2385-2390
Available from: https://journals.lww.com/ijo/pages/default.aspx/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=2020;volume=68;issue=11;spage=2385;epage=2390;aulast=Christy;type=0