Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Aug 21, 2020
Date Accepted: Dec 7, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: Dec 9, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 among Chinese older adults：An Online Cross-Sectional Survey
ABSTRACT
Background:
The International public health threat of COVID-19 has not yet come to an end. Prevention is of paramount importance to protect the high-risk group of the elderly when specific treatments for COVID-19 are not yet available, despite that, little work has been done to explore factors that promote preventive practices among this population.
Objective:
This study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of elderly population in China towards COVID-19 and determine factors that influence the practice of preventive behaviors.
Methods:
From February 19 to March 19, 2020, a cross-sectional, internet-based survey was administered to Chinese elderly in all of the 31 provinces in mainland China using a convenience sampling method to assess their knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19. Standard descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to analyze the data.
Results:
A total of 1501 participants responded to the survey, with 1263 valid responses left for further analysis. The overall correct rate on the knowledge questionnaire was 87%, an overall positive attitude towards COVID-19 was found and the mean score of practice was 13.73(SD:1.62, range:5-15). The hierarchical linear regression showed that respondents who were married or in cohabitation, and lived in areas with community-level control measures were more likely to practice preventive behaviors(P<.01). Knowledge(β=0.198, P<.05), perceived susceptibility(β=0.263，P<.001), perceived benefits(β=0.643, P<.001), and self-efficacy in preventing COVID-19(β=0.468, P<.001) were also found to be significantly associated with preventive behaviors.
Conclusions:
Most elderly residents had adequate knowledge, positive attitude and proactive practice towards COVID-19. Knowledge and attitude were confirmed to be significantly associated with behavior responses. Our findings have significant implications in enhancing the effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention programs targeting the elderly population, which needs to be continued and strengthened as the epidemic has not yet come to an end. Clinical Trial: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey
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