A Study of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Nasal Irrigation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 is a respiratory tract infection caused by the novel coronavirus (nCov). Nasal irrigation is one of the efforts to prevent COVID-19. Nasal irrigation is an act of flushing saline solution into the nasal cavity. This research aims to determine level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the community regarding nasal irrigation during the COVID-19 pandemic.  This study was a descriptive observational study. The sample of this research was the people of Palembang who were eligible for the  inclusion  and  exclusion criteria with the consecutive sampling technique as many as 398 respondents.  Data  were  obtained   through   primary   data   in  the  form of questionnaires, processed using the SPSS program, and  analyzed using univariate analysis. The majority of respondents were aged 18-25 years old (65.5%) and had senior high school 58.0%. The level of  public  knowledge about  nasal  irrigation  during  the  COVID-19  pandemic  was in the moderate category of  36.2%.  The level of public attitudes regarding nasal irrigation during the COVID-19 pandemic was in the good category at 83.4%. The level of nasal irrigation practice was included in the bad category of 75.6%. In conclusion, the  community  of Palembang had moderate level  of  knowledge,  a good  level  of  attitude,  and a bad level of practice regarding nasal irrigation during COVID-19 pandemic.