Evaluation of Environmental Health Parameters for COVID-19 Disease in South Khorasan Province, Iran

Background & Aims:

Prevention is the best solution to break the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection chain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the degree of adherence to environmental health parameters for COVID-19 prevention in South Khorasan Province.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 410 residents of South Khorasan in 2021. The data collection instrument containing a researcher-made questionnaire included demographic, knowledge, and performance questions. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed, an online questionnaire was prepared, and the questionnaire link was sent via online networks. Data were entered into SPSS version 16 and analyzed using an independent t-test, analysis of variance, and correlation coefficient. P value ≤ 0.05 was considered as the significance level.

The results showed that 35.9% and 64.1% of participants were women and men, respectively. A total of 82.9% of people wore masks outdoors, and 83.7% of people washed their hands with sanitizer or soap on a daily basis. Further, statistical analysis revealed no significant relationship between performance and demographic characteristics. However, knowledge was significantly associated with gender, job, and education (P ≤ 0.05).

The participants had poor knowledge and performance, and there was a need to provide education in this regard in order to update COVID-19 knowledge and change the behavior of the general public towards this emerging disease.