Risk Perception and Public Attention toward COVID-19 Outbreak in Iraq

Abstract

Background:  The Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) reported by WHO as an emerging global public health; it is well recognize that the spreading of any infectious disease is affected by a person’s readiness to comply with a specific preventive behavior, which is mainly accompanying with a person’s risk perception.

Methodology: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from 18^thMarch to 24^thMay 2020, among Iraqi residents to identify the risk perception and public attention toward the outbreak of COVID-19. A non-probability convenience sample consisted of 2.341 respondents from all Iraqi governorates except Kurdistan region was involved in this survey.

Findings: the majority (64.2%), and (69%) of the participants perceived a high risk for getting COVID-19 infection, and have a high level of attention about the application of preventive measures toward COVID-19 disease respectively. Furthermore, the majority (93%) of them has a high degree of self-efficacy and efficacy about implementation measures of prevention, and some of them facing a significant barriers affect them to participate in such activities, with 59.1% of respondents had insufficient motivation to implement these prevention measures.

Conclusion: Iraqi residents perceived a high in the level of risk regarding getting COVID-19 infection and raised in the level of attention regarding the application of preventive measures, but they have reported significant barriers, with insufficient motivation to implement these preventative measures.