Knowledge, perception and practice risk factors associated with compliance with COVID-19 measures

Keywords: Knowledge, perception, practice, compliance
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

Breakthrough infections and repeated waves of COVID-19 driven by variants suggest that the existing vaccines might not the panacea of this pandemic. Personal protective health behaviour such as hygiene practices and social distancing measures that minimize infection risk can continue to play an important role throughout the pandemic course. A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore locals’ knowledge and perceptions on the pandemic risk and risk factors that are associated with poor compliance behavior towards preventive measures. Questions in the survey drew extensively from the Health Belief Model (HBM) – a theoretical model to understand the determinants underlying an individual’s behaviour; engagement in health-related behaviour was posited to be influenced by one’s perception of susceptibility, severity of the problem, benefits and barriers to engagement in the health promotion behaviour. All results will be presented in descriptive statistics – frequency and percentages for categorical variables, means and standard deviation for continuous variables. Significant association between independent variables (sociodemographic variables, knowledge, perception, practices) and dependent variable (compliance) will be assessed in univariate logistic regression analysis; Pearson Chi-square or fisher’s exact test for categorical variables, and independent samples t-test or Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables. Variables significant in univariate analysis will be included into multiple logistic regression analysis with compliance as outcome. Statistical significance for all tests conducted will be deemed at p-value < 0.05. Taken together, the survey will provide insights into individuals’ knowledge, risk perceptions, behavioral changes and compliance towards health preventive measures in adults residents of Singapore.