Knowledge and practice in Jordan regarding the outbreak and prevention of COVID-19: a questionnaire-based study

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate public awareness and source of information regarding the management of the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic among Jordanians. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Jordan during the COVID-19 outbreak from March 25th to April 29th, 2020. A validated online questionnaire addressing participants' current awareness about COVID-19 pandemics, source of information, and perspectives of their role. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. Descriptive analysis data were reported as mean and standard deviations for continuous variables and percentages were used for qualitative variables. P-values ≤ 0.05 were considered significant. Results: This study involved 409 participants that had a mean age of 26.2 ± 8.7 years and 76.3 % were females. Nearly 67.7 % of the participants obtained their information about COVID-19 from social media, and 16.6 % from governmental agencies. Furthermore, 70.7 % of participants believed that wearing a medical face mask is not necessary to protect against COVID-19, about 95.6 % of the participants agreed to take COVID-19 detection tests when they suffer from symptoms related to COVID-19 infection, and 98.8 % agreed to visit the hospital if they have the infection. Conclusion: This survey has shown the importance of public awareness in the prevention and control of pandemic diseases. Most Jordanian participants have good knowledge of COVID-19 as a deadly disease that spreads rapidly among the population in a community. Furthermore, the people have awareness of drugs that enhance the immune system. This public awareness made Jordan one of the countries with reduced number of weekly recorded cases of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic.