A Study to Assess the Prevalence of COVID-19 among People at Kalitheerthalkuppam, Puducherry”

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 among people at Kalitheerthalkuppam, Puducherry, and to determine its association with selected demographic variables. A quantitative research approach with a descriptive research design was adopted. A total of 30 samples were selected using a convenient sampling technique. Data were collected over a period of two weeks using demographic variables and a rating scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The findings revealed that 50% of participants had a moderate level of prevalence, 26.7% had a high level, and 23.3% had a low level of prevalence. The mean prevalence score was 16.03 with a standard deviation of 5.334. Among demographic variables, occupation and vaccination status showed a statistically significant association with prevalence (p < 0.05). Other variables such as age, sex, education, marital status, family type, comorbidities, and testing history were not significantly associated. The study concludes that moderate prevalence was observed among the majority of participants, highlighting the need for continued public health interventions and large-scale studies.