Knowledge status and related factors about COVID-19 among those applying to family health centers in Denizli central districts

The new coronavirus strain that emerged in China at the end of 2019 has been named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease has been named Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 is transmitted through respiratory and droplet transmission, with a wide spectrum of cases ranging from asymptomatic to mild to moderate respiratory infections and severe care-demanding illnesses. As of 2023, COVID-19 has affected more than 600 million people and more than six million people have died due to the disease. A public health emergency of international concern was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 for this disease, which has turned into a pandemic, and various measures have been taken in the world and in Turkey. The rapid transformation of COVID-19 into a pandemic has forced people to learn about the new virus and quickly change their practices and behaviors, and with it an outbreak of infodemic. In pandemic management, people's adherence to existing control measures is essential, and adequate levels of health literacy (HL) along with knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards the disease contribute greatly to this success. The aim of the study was to query the knowledge levels of individuals about COVID-19 and to evaluate the relationship with various factors. The population of the cross-sectional study consists of people who applied to Family Health Centers in the central districts of Denizli. In the questionnaire form applied to the participants, sociodemographic and health characteristics were questioned. Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 (TSOY-32) was used to determine the level of HL. The level of knowledge about COVID-19 disease was determined with the first 12 items of the Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior Scale Towards COVID-19. Descriptive statistics were given as frequencies, percentage, mean, standard deviation, median, minimum, and maximum values. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests were used to compare continuous variables. Multiple linear regression analysis (backward) was performed to determine the factors affecting the level of knowledge about COVID-19. In this study, 565 people were reached. The total percentage of correct answers to the information level about COVID-19 was 74.6% and the mean score was 8.95±1.75. The knowledge score for COVID-19 was highest among those whose longest living unit was in an urban area (B=0.690 95% CI=0.322-1.058 p<0.001), and among those who had a first-degree relative with any chronic disease (B=0, 420 95% CI=0.162-0.679 p=0.001), those who regularly read newspapers or books (B=1.210 95% CI=0.922-1.498 p<0.001), and those with adequate or excellent HL (B=0.566 95% CI=0.290-0.842 p<0.001). Although the participants' level of knowledge about COVID-19 was found to be moderate, it was generally low compared to previous studies. In order to challenge epidemics and pandemics, research and interventions should be planned for disadvantaged groups in terms of low knowledge level. Keywords: COVID-19, pandemics, knowledge, health literacy