Table 1.
Socio demography, fear, impact, prevention behavior and anxiety level of COVID-19 (N = 962)
| Overall n (%) |
25th Jan–21st Feb (n = 581) |
22nd Feb–17th March (n = 71) |
18th March–3rd April (n = 310) |
p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socio demography | |||||
| Age group (mean ± SD) | 35.5 ± 11.2 | 34.7 ± 10.6 | 33.1 ± 14.8 | 37.5 ± 11.1 | p < 0.001a |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 302 (31.4) | 156 (26.9) | 21 (29.6) | 125 (40.3) | p < 0.001b |
| Female | 660 (68.6) | 425 (73.1) | 50 (70.4) | 185 (59.7) | |
| Ethnicity | |||||
| Malay | 565 (58.7) | 280 (48.2) | 30 (42.3) | 255 (82.3) | p < 0.001b |
| Chinese | 282 (29.3) | 216 (37.2) | 40 (56.3) | 26 (8.4) | |
| Indian | 53 (5.5) | 38 (6.5) | 1 (1.4) | 14 (4.5) | |
| Bumiputera Sabah/Sarawak/Others | 62 (6.4) | 47 (8.1) | 0 (0.0) | 15 (4.8) | |
| Level of education | |||||
| Secondary school | 84 (8.7) | 28 (4.8) | 5 (7.0) | 51 (16.5) | p < 0.001b |
| Tertiary | 878 (91.3) | 553 (95.2) | 66 (93.0) | 259 (83.5) | |
| Occupation | |||||
| Professional and managerial | 551 (57.3) | 368 (63.3) | 21 (29.6) | 162 (52.3) | p < 0.001b |
| General worker | 131 (13.6) | 52 (9.0) | 6 (8.5) | 73 (23.5) | |
| Student | 173 (18.0) | 109 (18.8) | 37 (52.1) | 27 (8.7) | |
| Housewife/Retiree/Unemployed/Others | 107 (11.1) | 52 (9.0) | 7 (9.9) | 48 (15.5) | |
| Average monthly household income (MYR) | |||||
| < 2000 | 97 (10.1) | 48 (8.3) | 19 (26.8) | 30 (9.7) | p < 0.001b |
| 2001–4000 | 308 (32.0) | 172 (29.6) | 15 (21.1) | 121 (39.0) | |
| 4001–8000 | 311 (32.3) | 193 (33.2) | 15 (21.1) | 103 (33.2) | |
| > 8000 | 246 (25.6) | 168 (28.9) | 22 (31.0) | 56 (18.1) | |
| Location | |||||
| Urban | 657 (68.3) | 436 (75.0) | 47 (66.2) | 174 (56.1) | p < 0.001b |
| Sub urban/Rural | 305 (31.7) | 145 (25.0) | 24 (33.8) | 136 (43.9) | |
| Region† | |||||
| Central | 651 (67.7) | 401 (69.0) | 42 (59.2) | 208 (67.1) | p < 0.001b |
| Southern | 71 (7.4) | 42 (7.2) | 5 (7.0) | 24 (7.7) | |
| Northern | 89 (9.3) | 53 (9.1) | 7 (9.9) | 29 (9.4) | |
| East Coast | 74 (7.7) | 22 (3.8) | 15 (21.1) | 37 (11.9) | |
| Borneo Island | 77 (8.0) | 63 (10.8) | 2 (2.8) | 12 (3.9) | |
| Prevention behaviour | |||||
| Mean total avoidance behavior score (mean ± SD) | 12.1 ± 3.5 | 11.2 ± 3.7 | 11.8 ± 3.2 | 13.9 ± 2.2 | p < 0.001a |
| Mean total protective behavior score (mean ± SD) | 15.0 ± 2.8 | 14.6 ± 3.0 | 14.5 ± 2.7 | 16.0 ± 2.1 | p < 0.001a |
| Fear of COVID-19 | |||||
| Mean total fear score (mean ± SD) | 10.0 ± 2.3 | 9.6 ± 2.4 | 9.3 ± 2.5 | 10.9 ± 1.7 | p < 0.001a |
| Impact from COVID-19 | |||||
| Mean total impact score (mean ± SD) | 9.1 ± 4.7 | 7.6 ± 4.7 | 9.2 ± 4.8 | 11.9 ± 2.9 | p < 0.001a |
| Perceived susceptibility | |||||
| Very/Extremely | 294 (30.6) | 26.3 (95%CI 22.8–30.1) | 18.3 (95%CI 10.1–29.3) | 58.7 (95%CI 53.0–64.2) | p < 0.001b |
| Perceived severity | |||||
| Very/Extremely | 736 (76.5) | 72.6 (95%CI 68.8–76.2) | 70.4 (95%CI 58.4–80.7) | 85.2% (95%CI 80.7–88.8) | p < 0.001b |
| Anxiety | |||||
| Total anxiety score | 52.0 ± 13.0 | 50.9 ± 13.2 | 52.1 ± 12.7 | 54.0 ± 12.5 | 0.003a |
| Moderate/Severe (score 44–80) | 694 (72.1) | 69.0 (95%CI 65.1–72.8) | 74.6 (95%CI 62.9–84.2) | 77.4 (95%CI 72.4–82.0) | 0.026b |
†Central: Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca; Southern: Johor; Northern: Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Perak; East Coast: Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang; Borneo Island: Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan
aOne-Way ANOVA
bChi-square test