ABSTRACT
As research on the COVID-19 virus, symptoms, and preventive measures progressed, the information has been disseminated through public service announcements, mass media, and social media. This chapter reports a study which investigated perceived knowledge of COVID-19 disease and perceived effectiveness of preventive measures among Malaysians. The questionnaire data were collected from 230 respondents on 1–15 July 2020 during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) period when COVID-19 cases were low. The results showed that the public believed that they have moderate knowledge of COVID-19 disease. Their main sources of information were the mass media and internet sources and daily reports of the disease incidence. They also believed that they could understand the disease, including medical findings. Among the preventive measures, the respondents believed that the most effective measure was avoiding crowded places, followed by practice of personal hygiene. Personal initiatives (staying at home and wearing face masks) were perceived as more effective than Movement Control Order (MCO) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) at premises (temperature checks and contact tracing applications). The findings suggest that to stem subsequent waves of COVID-19 infection, health messages should be framed to convince the public to internalise disease prevention and control measures instead of displaying superficial compliance to avoid being caught for SOP violation.
