Knowledge and Perceptions about COVID-19 among Thai Classical Dancers in Thailand An Online Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

The prevention and control of the spread of COVID-19 has become a major challenge and concern globally. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, sufficient knowledge and practices of people toward COVID-19 is necessary. Thai classical dancers are one of the groups affected by the pandemic. Health literacy in dancers has been shown to be crucial for their health and performance. Hence, this study aimed to assess Thai classical dancers' knowledge and perception about COVID-19. A cross-sectional 25-item online survey was conducted between March and October 2021. Content validity was performed through the index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC). Descriptive statistics were applied to represent Thai classical dancer characteristics, knowledge, and perception. The Thai version of the questionnaire had 2 modified items and 2 additional items from the original questionnaire, and the IOC was 1.0. Of the 323 participants who completed the survey, most had adequate knowledge about COVID-19, while 23.84% correctly answered about symptoms of severe COVID-19. Thai classical dancers showed a good perception on COVID-19 prevention and control. Basic understanding about COVID-19 among Thai classical dancers based on their available resources is important. Hence, providing more valid sources of information and health literacy to Thai classical dancers should be considered. More studies on COVID-19 in other dancers should also be explored.