Background: COVID-19 has necessitated unprecedented measures all over the world to control the rapid spread of the disease.  Like the rest of the world, the US implemented various public health initiatives. Peoples’ adherence to regulations (behavior/practice) is thought to be affected by the knowledge they have about the disease and their attitude towards it (KAP). Our study aims to investigate the KAP of New York city metropolitan area, and San Francisco Bay area residents. Overall, the study showed participants had good knowledge but poor attitudes and practices.  In this study, we specifically looked at social distancing as a measure of regulation adherence (practice) and assessed how it is affected by demographic factors, knowledge, and attitude. 

 

Methods: A cross sectional study conducted through a digital survey among residents living in the New York Metropolitan and San Francisco Bay area. A detailed 92 question survey was developed and administered online which contained demographics, and questionnaires used to assess knowledge, attitude, and behavior of the public.

 

Exclusion criteria: The study only included participants of age >= 18

 

Data Collection: Institutional review board approval was obtained from the University of Virginia. 776 responses were initially recorded however 101 participants were excluded due to either incomplete data or residency location. 

 

Data Analysis: Data analysis was performed using R. A statistical threshold of p-value < 0.05 was set to determine significance. 

 

Results: The number of people who were not social distancing by April was higher went up to 7% from 3% in March (p<0.001)

People in the age group of 40-59 were less likely to social distance compared to other age groups (p = .037)

People who were considered essential workers were less likely social distancing compared to non-essential workers (p<0.005)

We found that there was a direct relationship between educational level and adherence to social distancing guideline (p <0 .05)

We found that people who were earning on the higher end of the scale were not distancing compared to the lower earning counterparts (P= 0.005)

Who were able to work from home were not social distancing compared to people who were required to go in person. (p = .01)

 

References:

1. Zhong B-L, Luo W, Li H-M, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards  covid-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the covid-19 outbreak: A quick online cross-sectional survey. International journal of biological sciences. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7098034/. Published March 15, 2020. Accessed June 15, 2022.