Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards COVID-19 among chronic disease patients at Aksum Hospital, Northern Ethiopia, 2020: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND The Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak is the first reported case in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and suddenly became a major global health concern. Currently, there is no vaccine and treatment have been reported. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of COVID-19 among chronic disease patients. METHODS A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 chronic disease patients from July 01 to August 30, 2020 at Aksum Hospital, Northern Ethiopia. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses with 95% confidence intervals were fitted to identify factors associated with poor knowledge and practice towards COVID-19. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was used to determine the prevalence of the association between the dependent and independent variables. A P-value < 0.05 was identified as statistically significant. RESULTS A total of 422 participants participated in this study, with a 100% response rate. The prevalence of poor knowledge, poor practice and unfavorable attitude was 35.1, 48.8, and 40.5%, respectively. Age (AOR = 1.5, 95% CI: (1.411, 2.432)), educational status of "can't read and write" (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: (1.332, 9.612)), and rural residence (AOR = 3.12, 95% CI: (2.568, 11.532)) were significantly associated with poor knowledge. Educational status of "can't read and write" (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI (1.03-7.29)), and rural residence (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI (1.09-6.70)) were significantly associated with poor practice. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of poor knowledge and poor practice among chronic disease patients were high. Rural residence and educational status with "can not read and write" were significantly associated with poor knowledge and poor practice. Older age was significantly associated with poor knowledge.