Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Towards COVID-19 Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Rural Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study

Gayani Gunawardhana; S M Rokonuzzaman; Sajia Islam; Neeloy Alarm; Tarana E Ferdous; Elizabeth K Kirkwood; Camille Raynes-Greenow; Sk Masum Billah

doi:10.1007/s10995-024-03900-y

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Towards COVID-19 Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Rural Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study

Matern Child Health J. 2024 Apr;28(4):758-766. doi: 10.1007/s10995-024-03900-y. Epub 2024 Jan 31.

Authors

Gayani Gunawardhana¹, S M Rokonuzzaman², Sajia Islam², Neeloy Alarm³, Tarana E Ferdous², Elizabeth K Kirkwood³, Camille Raynes-Greenow³, Sk Masum Billah^{3

2}

Affiliations

¹ Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia. gayani.gunawardhana@sydney.edu.au.
² Maternal and Child Health Division, ICDDR, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
³ Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia.

Abstract

Objective: To identify knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 among pregnant and postpartum women in rural Bangladesh, and to assess any association with antenatal care attendance (ANC).

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Northern Bangladesh's Sherpur district with a sample of pregnant and post-partum women enrolled in 'Poriborton', a community-based cluster Randomised Controlled Trial. Knowledge, attitude, and practices toward COVID-19, and any association with antenatal care practices were assessed through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Composite measures for knowledge, attitude, and practices of COVID-19 were generated. Specific knowledge on COVID-19 and the association of antenatal care were presented as descriptive statistics. An adjusted odds ratio was used to examine the association between categorical variables.

Results: Out of 4835 women, 34.0% correctly identified five or more COVID-19 symptoms, 31.8% knew three or more modes of coronavirus transmission, and 57.0% knew five or more preventive measures. Most (90.1%) had a "more positive attitude to testing" and 65.1% reported adequate practice of preventive measures. Women with adequate knowledge of COVID-19 were more likely to report both a positive attitude to testing (OR:2.96; 95% CI: 1.38-6.37) and adopt adequate practices of preventive measures (OR: 4.30;95% CI: 2.90-6.36). Education and being employed influenced KAP related to COVID-19. Only 14.9% were satisfied with their knowledge of COVID-19. Television was the main source of COVID-19-related specific information.

Conclusions: We found that improved knowledge was associated with positive attitudes and behaviours that lead to the adoption of preventive measures. There was no association with ANC practices as attendance was very low in this region. The findings could be utilised to develop communication strategies for future public health emergencies in similar settings.

Keywords: COVID-19; Pregnant women; Preventive behaviours.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Bangladesh / epidemiology
COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Postpartum Period
Pregnancy
Surveys and Questionnaires