knowledge, awareness, and practice of preventive measures against covid-19: a prospective observational study from pakistan

Background: coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) is a rapidly spreading global emergency, causing significant damage to the global economy and health care. knowledge and awareness are crucial elements in stimulating self-imposed preventive measures. objectives: we evaluated the knowledge and awareness about covid-19 and the practice of hygiene measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease. methods: a prospective observational study was conducted in karachi, pakistan, between march 01 and march 25, 2020, using a non-probability consecutive sampling technique. all individuals aged 18 years or above were included in the study. the individuals who had no formal education were excluded from the study. a self-reported questionnaire assessing knowledge, awareness, and practices was distributed among the participants. results: the mean age ± sd of the study population was 29.11 ± 7.8 years. in our study, 424 (98.6%) participants knew that a virus causes covid-19, and most were knowledgeable about the disease's transmission mode. higher education status and the medical profession were associated with the better practice of preventive measures. conclusions: we recommend that knowledge about covid-19 and preventive measures be spread across the country via electronic media.