O-10 Pandemic Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Health Adoption and Risk Avoidance Behaviors.

Methods: During the period March to December, 2020. through an open-access online course entitled: An Examination of COVID-19, 12, 234 participants enrolled from 120 countries. Monthly modules explored the developing knowledge and understanding of the pandemic accompanied with quizes and discussion fora which recorded participants perceptions and attitudes towards COVID-19 and compliance with recommended hygiene practices and risk avoidance for SARS-CoV-2.

Results: Attitudes and Perceptions: 50% (6,117) of respondents felt COVID-19 would ‘somewhat’ affect their health if infected while 19% (2,324) perceived their level of risk as high or very high. Mitigation: 84·9% (10,387) performed ≥1 of the three recommended hygiene-related behaviors while 93·4% (11,426) performed ≥1 of three avoidancerelated behaviors during the observed time. Moderate concern about COVID-19 contributed towards the reported attitude and prevention behavior adopted. The average rate of concern of COVID-19 was lowest in the North American continent, followed by Europe while the highest rate of concern was among Africa and South America. Trust in government was one of the determining factors for the public to adopt the recommended hygiene-related and avoidance behaviors. Increase in science/health literacy levels was associated with increased adoption of behaviors.

Conclusion: Perceptions of risk, compliance with hygiene and adherence to avoidance measures were related to social realities of geographical location, governance and science literacy. A targeted approach based on understanding of the rationale for people’s attitudes, perceptions and ultimately behavior is recommended.