The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has posed a serious risk with pre-existing health conditions. This study was conducted to understand the knowledge, attitude, and practices concerning COVID-19 among patients with chronic illnesses in Bangladesh during the pandemic. The study was conducted in Khulna city of Bangladesh following a qualitative research design. We employed telephone interviews to collect data from 40 participants with four common pre-existing chronic illnesses (diabetes, hypertension, respiratory/asthma, and heart disease). Findings show that the majority of the participants had a moderate level of knowledge and an overall positive attitude regarding COVID-19 but appropriate safety practices were often ignored as the pandemic grows older. We also observed that the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 varied based on age, marital status, education, social class, and rural/urban residence. We concluded that improving medical advice/support, promotion of awareness through mass media, strict monitoring of protective measures and subsidies from the government, and self-consciousness could be effective strategies to mitigate the transmission of the disease and reduce risks for patients with chronic illness in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, knowledge, Bangladesh, Attitude, Practice, chronic health illnesses, 【초록키워드】 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic, media, risk, Transmission, diabetes, novel coronavirus disease, hypertension, Health, Research, Patient, age, disease, moderate, Protective, Government, Chronic illness, Older, positive attitude, measure, participant, finding, mitigate, the disease, conducted, majority, reduce, conditions, concerning, effective strategy, 【제목키워드】 Qualitative, chronic,