TY - JOUR AU - Mirza Zeeshan Sikandar, AU - Bilal Husnain Bajwa, AU - Hasan Zahid, AU - Sobia Ali, AU - Sabiha Iqbal, AU - Syed Imran Ali Shah, PY - 2021/04/21 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Trends Towards Covid-19 Pandemic: Comparison Between Individuals with Medical and Non-Medical Backgrounds JF - Proceedings JA - Proceedings S.Z.M.C VL - 35 IS - 2 SE - Articles DO - 10.47489/PSZMC784-35-2-7-13 UR - http://proceedings-szmc.org.pk/index.php/szmc/article/view/97 SP - 7-13 AB - <p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious viral disease with high morbidity and mortality. Successful control of COVID-19 requires an approach of safety and cautious behavior of the general public as well as healthcare workers which can be attained by enhancing awareness based on scientific evidence.</p><p><strong>Aims &amp; Objectives: </strong>To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of Covid-19 safety precautions in people with a medical and allied health background and compare them with non-medical people from the local population.</p><p><strong>Place and duration of study: </strong>Study was conducted at Central Park Medical College from July 2020 to September 2020.</p><p><strong>Material &amp; Methods: </strong>A total of 976 people participated in the study and were segregated into two groups; Group 1 (People having medical background; n=388) and Group 2 (People having non-medical background; n=588) to compare KAP scores between Group 1 and&nbsp; Group 2 by using validated scales on Google forms. Data were presented as percentages and frequencies. Independent sample t-test was used to analyze statistical differences.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Higher knowledge scores were observed for group 1 as compared to group 2 (9.92 <u>+</u> 2.27 v/s 9.16 <u>+</u>2.53; p= 0.001). Better knowledge, good attitude and safe practice trends were observed in group 1 (medical background) as compared to group 2 (non-medical background).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Individuals with a medical background are more knowledgeable and exhibit a cautious attitude and better safety practices regarding COVID-19 as compared to the general population. There is a need to educate the general population about safety measures for COVID-19 including social distancing, usage of masks, self-isolation, avoidance of gatherings and others.</p> ER -