The relationship between known exposure to COVID-19 and thelevels of knowledge of individuals about COVID-19

Objective: This study is aimed to measure the level of knowledge among individuals having known or unknown exposure to COVID-19, to examine whether there is a significant difference in terms of level of knowledge between these two groups and the relationship of these data with sociodemographic variables. Method: Our cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on a voluntary basis among patients at Dokuz Eylül University Family Health Centers. It was aimed to reach at least 377 people by sample calculation with known universe. A questionnaire-based survey, assesing level of knowledge and sociodemographic information was taken by a total of 388 respondents. The statistical data of the research were analyzed using the SPSS 25 program. P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A face-to-face questionnaire application at Dokuz Eylül University Education Family Health Centers was taken by a total of 388 respondents. %53.4 (n:207) were women. The average age of the of the respondents was 41.87±14.60. %70.6 were comprised of high school and university graduates. %6.2 of respondents has never been to school and %2.1 of them were illiterate. %13.9 were living with people over the age of 65. %50 had COVID-19. Approximately one-fifth of the participants became ill between September 12, 2020 and March 12, 2021. %4.1 were pregnant or postpartum during the illness period. %5.7 of those positive for COVID-19 had no symptoms and 2.1% were admitted to intensive care. Approximately one-third of the respondents regularly used the prescribed medication. %31 had at least one chronic disease, among these 69 people had diabetes and 75 people had hypertension. The total score average of COVID-19 knowledge level was 13.22±3.71 (min. 1-max. 17). Mann Whitney U test was conducted to analyze the relationship between COVID-19 knowledge level and average scores regarding the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants; A statistically significant relationship was found between educational status, presence of chronic disease, whom one lives with and total score (p<0.001; p=0.006; p<0.001, respectively). Those who are high school graduates or graduates of higher school, those who didn't have chronic diseases and those lived alone had higher scores. No statistically significant difference was found regarding gender, presence of a person over 65 years of age at home, and COVID-19 knowledge level score (Table 7). A statistically significant difference was observed in the clinical score averages regarding having had COVID-19, presence of chronic disease, and vaccination status (p<0.001; p=0.005; p<0.001, respectively). The clinical score was found higher in those who had COVID-19, those without a chronic disease, and those who were vaccinated. There was no statistically significant difference between hospitalization and clinical score average (Table 9). A statistically significant relationship was found between having COVID-19, chronic disease, protection through vaccination and control score averages (p<0.001; p<0.001, respectively). Accordingly, the protection and control scores are higher in those who have had COVID-19 and those who have been vaccinated. No significant difference was found with the presence or absence of chronic disease and hospitalization (Table 11). Conclusion: It was concluded that individuals with known exposure to COVID-19 had higher levels of knowledge. In our research, it was also indicated that average scores of COVID-19 knowledge level differ significantly depending on the participants' age, education level, whether they had a chronic disease, number of people living in the household and COVID-19 vaccination status. As the knowledge levels of those with unknown exposure to COVID-19 are lower, it becomes necessary to increase their knowledge levels for them to develop more conscious attitude towards COVID-19 as a preventive factor before being exposed to the disease. Therefore, it must be aimed to increase the knowledge level of every individual in the society before they are exposed to disease.