Knowledge, attitudes, practices of primary and middle school students at the outbreak of COVID-19 in Beijing: A cross-sectional online study

  1. Fuyuan Wen
  2. Yi Meng
  3. Han Cao
  4. Juan Xia
  5. Hui Li
  6. Han Qi
  7. Kai Meng
  8. Ling Zhang

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Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated the KAP towards COVID-19 and their influencing factors among primary and middle school students during the self-quarantine period in Beijing.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study among students from 18 primary and middle schools in Beijing during March 2020. Stratified cluster sampling was conducted. Demographic and KAP-related COVID-19 information was collected through an online questionnaire. The influencing factors were analyzed by multivariable logistic regression.

Results

A total of 7,377 students were included. The overall correct rate for COVID-19 knowledge was 74.1%, while only 31.5% and 40.5% could identify the high-risk places of cross-infection and warning body temperature. Although 94.5% of respondents believed the epidemic could be controlled, over 50% expressed various concerns about the epidemic. The compliance rates for basic preventing behaviors were all over 80%, while those for “rational and effective ventilation” (39.2%) and “dinning separately” (38.6%) were low. The KAP levels were significantly differed according to various school categories of students. The COVID-19 knowledge (OR= 3.309, 95% CI: 2.921, 3.748) and attitude (OR=1.145, 95% CI: 1.003, 1.308) were associated with preventive practices. Besides, female, urban students, those with a healthy lifestyle, and those with the willingness to engage in healthcare tended to have better preventive practices.

Conclusion

Most students in Beijing hold a high level of knowledge, optimistic attitudes and have appropriate practices towards COVID-19. However, targeted interventions are still necessary, especially for students with high-risk characteristics.

Implications and contributions

The performance and the potential factors of COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) among students in primary and middle schools is still unclear.

This study investigates the characteristics and the level of KAP among students. The results of the study may contribute to the targeted education and interventions for students.

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    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.06.29.20138628: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementIACUC: This study was approved by the Medical Ethical Committee in Beijing Anding Hospital of the Capital Medical University, China.
    Consent: Informed consent was confirmed by participants before the online survey, and all the participants could quit the investigation at any time.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0.
    SPSS
    suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    However, this study also has certain limitations. First, the accuracy of the data collected through an online survey cannot be guaranteed. However, the home isolation period during the epidemic provided an opportunity to quickly obtain information through the convenience of an online survey, thus providing the time-sensitive research evidence for the timely adjustment of health education methods and the formulation of relevant epidemic prevention measures. Additionally, we adopted the cluster stratified sampling method while recruiting respondents through the publicity and mobilization efforts of the education system, which, to some extent, methodologically compensated for the inadequacy of the online survey. Second, this study only included children and adolescents who enrolled in school; therefore, the general characteristics of the population aged 9-18 years were incomplete. Nevertheless, the findings are of great significance for schools and other educational institutions. Lastly, this study was conducted in Beijing, the capital of China, during the COVID-19 outbreak. Because of the capital’s high level of education and its information delivery network, the overall performance of KAP we investigated might be higher than the mean level in China in general, which means that, in the future, multicenter studies involving large samples are needed nationwide to obtain more accurate data.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1101/2020.06.29.20138628v1 on medRxiv