KNOWLEDGE, FEAR, AND PREVENTIVE COVID-19 BEHAVIOR IN PREGNANT WOMEN IN INDONESIA

Abstract

The spread of COVID-19 is currently getting wider. It is across regions and countries, accompanied by an increase in the number of cases and many deaths every day. Circulating information affects people's knowledge about COVID-19, although this does not determine their understanding of COVID-19. Knowledge and fear will encourage a person to behave well. Good knowledge and great scare about COVID-19 can improve preventive behavior against COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to determine knowing, fears, and preventive behavior against COVID-19 in pregnant women in Simalungun Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The method used in this research was a descriptive study conducted on 100 pregnant women in June-July 2021 in Tapian Dolok District, Simalungun Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Simple random sampling was used in this research. Data was collected using a knowledge questionnaire about COVID-19 (15 questions), a fear questionnaire using the Fear COVID-19 Scale (FCS-19S) (7 questions), and Preventive COVID-19 Behavior Scale (PCV-19BS) questionnaire to determine preventive behavior (4 questions). The FCS-19S and PCV-19BS questionnaires used a Likert scale (1-5). The reliability of the knowledge, fears, and preventive behavior questionnaires were assessed based on Cronbach's Alpha of 0.748 each; 0.846; and 0.898, respectively. The data was presented in a frequency distribution table. The results showed that most participants (79%) had a high level of knowledge about COVID-19, most participants (72%) had a high level of fear of COVID-19, and almost all participants (95%) had a high level of preventive behavior against COVID-19. Efforts should be made to overcome fear and further research to find factors associated with fear of COVID-19.