Introduction
The COVID-19 outbreak first occurred at the Wuhan seafood market in
early December 2019, where patients with respiratory illnesses were
observed to have a causative association with seafood consumption. On
30th January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a
Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The outbreak was
officially linked to the coronavirus in February 2020 by WHO and termed
COVID-19. India is the largest democracy in the world, with a largely
rural and growing urban population base suffering a lot from the current
pandemic situation. India recorded the first 1 lakh cases on 18th may
2020 and crossed the 8.5 lakh mark on 11th July. Despite the enforcement
of a four-phased lockdown from 24th march to the end of May 2020,
multiple waves of COVID-19 caused an enormous blow to the economy and
health infrastructure 1. A COVID-19 pandemic is an
unprecedented event, resulting in uncertainty, job losses & mental
despair. It has also severely affected patients with pre-existing
chronic diseases, who require regular medications and monitoring. The
patients with pre-existing cardiac diseases were also severely affected
by the pandemic.
As per ”KAP theory,” modification in human behavior involves three
successive steps: knowledge acquisition and attitude generation,
followed by the adoption of new practice. Various studies have proven
that the KAP levels among individuals are paramount in preventing and
effectively managing diseases 2,3.
As the population’s adherence to control measures during lockdown mainly
depends on their knowledge, attitude, and practice towards COVID-19, it
is assumed that KAP levels of cardiac patients will be the deciding
factor in their combat against the current pandemic. Hence, this study
assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practices about COVID-19 in
cardiac surgical patients during the current pandemic era.