Open AccessCOVID-19 and Adolescents of Chengalpattu District: A Cross-sectional Study
Author(s) -
S Sasithra
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of communicable diseases/journal of communicable diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.151
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 2581-351X
pISSN - 0019-5138
DOI - 10.24321/0019.5138.202209
Subject(s) - pandemic , public health , cross sectional study , covid-19 , family medicine , medicine , systematic sampling , simple random sample , environmental health , nursing , disease , population , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology
COVID-19 is a potential public health concern which was identified and declared as public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation. Objective: To assess the knowledge and standard COVID-19 preventive practicing methods followed during pandemic among adolescents in the urban areas of Chengalpattu district. Methods: A Community based cross-sectional study was conducted among the adolescents (10 years to 19 years) in urban field practising areas of a tertiary care private hospital during the second COVID wave. Data were collected through simple random sampling technique from 170 adolescents in the sampled households through face-to-face interview of respondents. Statistical analysis done using institutional licensed IBM-SPSS version 21.0 software. Results: Majority of the study participants 53.5% were between the ages of 15 and 19. Of the participants, 52.4% were perusing their higher/higher secondary education. Female respondents were 51.8% in the present study. 67% had good knowledge regarding the corona virus and 82% had good COVID-19 preventive practice during the pandemic. Conclusion: Lack of equivalent knowledge emphasises the need of educating the younger community about the novel virus. Appropriate measures to improve COVID-19 knowledge should be taken by relevant stakeholders in view of yielding equilibrium between preventive practice and knowledge so that the disease will be eradicated in near future.