Preventive Practice towards Covid-19 and Its Associated Factors among Malaysian Adults During Massive Outbreak in 2021

Abstract

Combating COVID-19 pandemic will not be successful without everyone’s cooperation from all levels of society. Therefore, this study assessed the extent of the public’s knowledge, attitude, and preventive practice towards COVID-19. The current study also determined the associated factors for preventive practice towards COVID-19 among Malaysian adults.

An online cross-sectional study was conducted among 897 Malaysian adults. Data were collected using the snowball sampling method via the online platform: WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and email. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the association between all independent variables and the preventive practice of COVID-19.

The mean (SD) scores for knowledge, attitude, and preventive practice towards COVID-19 were 122.70 (6.05), 249.91 (17.29), and 64.48 (5.58), respectively. Preventive practice towards COVID-19 were associated with gender (p < 0.001), race (p = 0.002), history of being fined due to noncompliance to COVID-19 SOP (p = 0.002), knowledge on COVID-19 (p<0.001), and attitude towards COVID-19 (p = 0.017).

The overall knowledge, attitude, and preventive practice towards COVID-19 among Malaysian adults were satisfactory. Health education should focus more on the identified factors, and legislation enforcement should be enhanced to ensure COVID-19 SOP compliance.