Sociocultural Determinants and Behavioral Risk Factors of COVID-19: A Study of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in Bangladesh

Abstract Experts say that community transmission of coronavirus connects to sociocultural and behavioral contexts. As such, it is necessary to understand the health behaviors of local people to explore the sociocultural determinants and socio-demographic risk factors that might be responsible for coronavirus infections. A study was done in five sub-districts of Chittagong, a southeastern district of Bangladesh, to generate evidence on sociocultural and behavioral perspectives of COVID-19 risk factors. Employing a mixed-methods research approach, this study observed 555 people and administered a vaccination survey to 200 respondents to understand individuals’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 safety measures. Researchers also conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 key informants. Interview data was analyzed through thematic analysis, whereas descriptive statistics were used to analyze observational and survey data. Under the framework of the KAP model, the study results show that around half of the observed people do not wear face masks, and more than three-quarters do not maintain social distancing in public. The study also demonstrates no handwashing or hand-sanitizing facilities in over half of the observed places. The vaccination survey indicates that although 60.2% of respondents have been vaccinated, 21% of respondents do not know that they might be infected by the coronavirus even after getting vaccinated, whereas 15.5% do not know that vaccinated people still need to wear masks. Qualitative data shows that individuals’ perception of coronavirus was influenced by their sociocultural context of digesting mass media-generated COVID-19 knowledge and information. Unhealthy behavioral practices and undesirable attitudes of community members are also responsible for COVID-19 infections. From this perspective, examining individuals’ attitudes and views on the causes of COVID-19 might help in proper planning, designing, and implementing risk communication and community engagement interventions and policies to encounter the pandemic in Bangladesh.