Attitudes and practices toward COVID‐19 precautionary measures: A comparative study of health professionals and public

Author:

Hashim Muhammad Jawad1,Jamil Sarah2,Masood Murriam3,Govender Romona Devi1,Shamsi Ali Rashed Al4,Al Zaabi Anwar4,AB Khan Moien1ORCID,Aziz Saleem Aqeel2,Jamil Gohar4ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences United Arab Emirates University Al Ain United Arab Emirates

2. Department of Medicine Tawam Hospital Al Ain United Arab Emirates

3. Department of Medicine Rashid Hospital Dubai United Arab Emirates

4. Cardiology Division Department of Medicine Tawam Hospital Al Ain United Arab Emirates

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundContainment of the COVID‐19 pandemic has been impaired by the denial and defiance of preventive recommendations.AimsWe aimed to study the attitudes toward COVID‐19 social measures among laypersons and healthcare professionals.MethodsWe conducted a cross‐sectional study in the United Arab Emirates using a self‐administered online questionnaire. Both healthcare workers and laypersons were actively recruited. In addition to sociodemographic variables, the questionnaire included questions on anxiety, knowledge, and defiance related to COVID‐19.ResultsA total of 615 individuals with a mean age of 32 years (SD, 12) participated. Females comprised 69% and healthcare workers constituted 60% of the study sample. Among laypersons, over 42% reported having social gatherings at home, and 44% admitted to visiting crowded places. More than half of the respondents felt increased anxiety. Previous COVID‐19 infection did not affect attitudes or anxiety levels. Knowledge about COVID‐19 was higher among those who were more educated (r = .21). Healthcare workers had lower anxiety than laypersons (p = .002). COVID‐19 anxiety was higher among older persons and did not decrease with more knowledge. COVID‐19 defiance was higher among younger male respondents from larger households and did not correlate with knowledge. Multivariate analysis showed more defiant attitudes at younger ages.ConclusionsAnxiety‐related to the COVID‐19 pandemic is more common in older individuals, whereas younger persons were more likely to deny and defy prevention recommendations despite having knowledge of viral transmission. Voluntary compliance by young individuals requires an engaging communication strategy to generate more compassionate attitudes.

Publisher

Wiley

Subject

Behavioral Neuroscience

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