Knowledge, behavior and psychological status regarding COVID-19 in elementary and secondary school teachers

ObjectiveTo evaluate the knowledge, behavior and psychological status regarding COVID-19 epidemic in elementary and secondary school teachers, and to provide a reference for disease prevention and control at schools as well as for preparation of school returning.

MethodsA survey in 2 338 teachers was conducted using self-designed questionnaires about COVID-19.

ResultsThe overall awareness rate of COVID-19 knowledge was 88.79%, knowledge score was 10.65±1.09, and the school health teachers had higher score than other school staff (F＝23.87, P=0.000 1).Respondents with IP address in Hubei had higher score than those in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai(F＝10.69, P=0.014).The top three knowledge resources were news apps (Toutiao, Tencent) (87.25%), WeChat (78.06%) and telecast (74.94%).The overall healthy behavior score was 43.59±3.12, and school doctors again had higher score than other school staff (F=11.48, P=0.02).Respondents with IP address in Hubei had higher score than those in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai (F=17.08, P=0.000 7). During the epidemic, 100% respondents wore masks when taking public transportation, the highest rate of wearing masks, while 90.93% wore masks at family and friends gathering, the lowest rate of wearing masks.The top three types of masks being used were disposable medical masks (89.14%), surgical masks (43.63%) and N95 medical protective masks (34.09%).The highest rate of hand washing behavior was 99.83% for washing hands after going to toilet, while the lowest was 75.92% for washing hands after touching hair, ears and nose.The highest rate of other healthy behaviors was 94.14% for reducing family and friend gatherings, while the lowest was 71.60% for covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. The correlation between health behavior and knowledge was statistically significant (r=0.081, P < 0.001).Correlation analysis showed that the degree of concern was related to the degree of teaching influence (r=0.768, P=0.0002), and the degree of anxiety was related to the degree of teaching influence (r=0.175, P < 0.001), while there was no correlation between the degree of concern and the degree of anxiety.

ConclusionElementary and secondary school teachers generally have high score in the COVID-19 knowledge test, and behaved well in wearing masks.Hand hygiene education should be further improved.There are concerns about the impact of COVID-19 epidemic on teaching.