Knowledge, Attitude and Practices regarding COVID-19 among Malaysian Boarding School Students

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease 2019, or better known as the COVID-19, has caused a global pandemic and high deathrate worldwide. Following the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, the government had enforced Movement Control Order (MCO) started from 18 March 2020 and the restrictions were conducted and reviewed in several phases. The MCO also involved schools closure and commencement of online learning. This study aimed to identify the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding COVID-19 among students in selected boarding schools in Malaysia. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was done in July to September 2020 using a set of questionnaire that was distributed via Google form. The questionnaire consisted of demographic data, knowledge, attitude and practice regarding COVID-19. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science 22. Results: A total of 365 students participated in this study. The respondents comprised of 54.2% female and 45.8% male students. The study found that they have moderate knowledge on COVID-19 while their attitude and practice were high. The study found a significant association between the knowledge and practice scores and between the attitude and practice scores of the
respondents. [r = 0.389, p < 0.05] regarding COVID-19 However, there was no significant association between the knowledge and attitude scores. Conclusions: This study concluded that students' practice regarding COVID-19 was influenced by their attitude on health care to prevent COVID-19 infection. Therefore, changing their attitude and increasing the students knowledge are necessary to improve their practices regarding COVID-19 preventive measures.