COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIOR TOWARDS SOCIAL DISTANCING POLICY AS PREVENTION TRANSMISSION OF COVID-19 IN INDONESIA

TLDR

COVID‑19, caused by SARS‑CoV‑2, has become a global pandemic, and social distancing is a recommended mitigation to reduce morbidity and mortality in Indonesia. The study aimed to assess Indonesian community knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward social distancing as a preventive measure against SARS‑CoV‑2 transmission. A cross‑sectional survey of 1,102 respondents across 29 provinces was conducted online, and data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies, percentages, and cross‑tabulations. The survey found that 99 % had good knowledge, 59 % had positive attitudes, and 93 % exhibited good behavior toward social distancing, with strong correlations between knowledge, attitudes, and behavior, supporting effective pandemic mitigation. Keywords: attitudes, behavior, COVID‑19, knowledge, social distancing.

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV2 recently became a pandemic worldwide, such as in Indonesia. Social distancing is one of the recommended mitigations to reduce the risk of disasters, such as morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19. Community compliance with social distancing is a part of the pandemic control.Aims: This study identified knowledge, attitudes, and behavior towards the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission through social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic among Indonesian community.Methods: This descriptive study applied a cross-sectional design and distributed closed questions with online questionnaire randomly to 34 provinces in Indonesia on social media networks and e-mail. This study successfully collected 1,102 respondents from 29 provinces in Indonesia. The data were analyzed descriptively by calculating frequency, percentage, and cross-tabulation.Results: This study had successfully identified 99%, 59%, and 93% of respondents with good knowledge, positive attitudes, and good behavior respectively towards social distancing..Among the respondents who had good knowledge showed positive attitudes (58.85%) and good behavior (93.3%). The respondents who had positive attitudes showed good behavior (96.7%).behaviorConclusion: Indonesian community had good knowledge, attitude and behavior towards social distancing as a way to prevent the virus transmission. This strongly supports disaster mitigation in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Keywords: attitudes, behavior, COVID-19, knowledge, social distancing.