Qom University of Medical Sciences Journal

Introduction
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as the biggest health challenge of the century, was first reported in Wuhan, China, and was later declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization [1, 2]. One of the main protective measures for this pandemic is the observance of personal hygiene. People should have knowledge of these measures to optimally control the disease outbreak [3]. Knowledge, attitude and practice are important cognitive keys to public health and disease prevention [4] that can help people adopt preventive measures [5]. Given the importance of the health of women at the reproductive age, it is necessary to pay attention to their health-promoting behaviors. In this regard, and given the importance of studies on COVID-19 of women, the present study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of women of reproductive age in Qom, Iran regarding the prevention of COVID-19.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 264 women of reproductive age in Qom city in 2020, who were selected using a multi-stage sampling method from among those referred to the health centers in eight municipal districts of Qom. In order to collect information, an online KAP questionnaire was used in four sections: demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and practice. After data collection, they were analyzed in SPSS software, version 20 using descriptive and inferential statistics such as ANOVA, Pearson correlation test, and independent t-test. Significance level was set at 0.05.
Results
The mean age of women was 28.2±7.2 years. Among participants, 218 had university education (82.6%), 175 were married (66.3%), 87 were housewives (33%), and 123 (46.6%) had a history of COVID-19 infection in their relatives or family members. The level of knowledge, attitude and practice in women were 86.8%, 78.7% and 94.3%, respectively. There was a direct and significant correlation between knowledge and attitude, between knowledge and practice, and between attitude and practice regarding the prevention of COVID-19 (P<0.05). This means that women with a high knowledge of COVID-19 had a more positive attitude about the prevention of this disease. Women who had a positive attitude towards the disease, had better practice. The KAP score of women were at a good level. Knowledge had a significant relationship with age; attitude had a significant relationship with educational level, and practice had a significant relationship with occupation (p<0.05).
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the KAP of women of reproductive age in Qom city regarding the prevention of COVID-19. The results showed that the KAP level of women were at good level, and their knowledge, attitude and practice had a significant and positive relationship with each other. The findings of Fikadu and Tomar are consistent with the results of our study [6, 7]. The level of KAP is not reported acceptable in most of countries. For example, Haque showed that the KAP of people in Bangladesh was not acceptable [8]. This discrepancy is due to different educational context of different countries; i.e., how people are informed about the COVID-19 through communication networks and how this education affects their KAP.
Findings of this study showed that women had a good attitude and practice in COVID-19 prevention; their negative attitudes towards the disease led to good practice in preventing the disease. This finding is consistent with the findings of other studies [9, 10]. In our study, there was a statistically significant relationship between educational level of women and their attitude. This is because women with higher education have more access to information about COVID-19 in various sources and have the ability to understand this information. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between the occupation of women and their practice, which is consistent with the results of Tawalbeh [11]. Overall, the results showed that the KAP of the women of reproductive age in Qom is at acceptable level. Considering the prevalence of COVID-19 and the importance of health in women of reproductive age, the results can be used in designing health interventions for these women.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study was approved by Ethics Committee of Qom University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.MUQ.REC.1399.043). All ethical principles were considered in this article. The participants were informed about the study objectives and methods. They were also assured of the confidentiality of their information and were free to leave the study at any time, and if desired, the results would be available to them.
Funding
This study was not funded by any organization.
Authors contributions
All authors contributed to the preparation of this article.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all the deputy for research of Qom University of Medical Sciences and all women participated in this study.