Knowledge and Perception on Overclaim against the Behaviors of Implementing the COVID-19 Prevention Protocol Communities in Indonesia

Background: COVID-19 occurs in various countries and has been declared a pandemic by WHO. Multiple efforts have been made to reduce the number of cases of COVID-19. However, the incidence of COVID–19 continues to increase, along with control efforts carried out by various parties, causing overclaims for the prevention or treatment of COVID–19. Objective This study aimed to determine the relationship between knowledge and public perception of the behavior of implementing the COVID-19 prevention protocol in Central Java Province. Methods: This cross-sectional study used primary data collected online via WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook in December 2020. A total of 1,098 of 1,115 respondents passed the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Backward Elimination is used to determine factors related to behavior in the multivariable model stage using multiple logistic regression. Results: The knowledge, perception, and behaviors prevalence of implementing COVID-19 prevention protocols were good & enough 79.1% (95% CI 76.63 – 81.45), 96.6% (95% CI 95.38 – 97.55), and 92.3% (95% CI 90.62 – 93.78) respectively. The result revealed that Knowledge (adjOR = 2.034, 95% CI 1.253 - 3.302, P = 0.004) and Perception (adjOR = 4.064, 95% CI 1.859 - 8.882, P = < 0.001) were possibly associated with behaviors of implementing COVID-19 prevention protocols among communities in Central Java Province. Conclusion This study found a slight prevalence of good & enough knowledge, perception, and behaviors of implementing COVID-19 prevention protocols in a representative sample among Communities in Central Java Province. Knowledge and perceptions were statistically significant with behaviors.