Monkeypox Knowledge Investigation and Knowledge Gap Analysis: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey in China

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of the Participants

Variable	N (%) or Mean ± SD
Biological sex
Male	308 (42.8)
Female	412 (57.2)
Age (year)	35.33 ± 13.28
Education level
Primary School and below	7 (1.0)
Junior High School	15 (2.1)
High School, Secondary Vocational School, Technical School	65 (9.0)
Associate Degree	222 (30.8)
Bachelor’s Degree	362 (50.3)
Master’s Degree	44 (6.1)
Doctoral Degree	5 (0.7)
Place of Residence
Urban	608 (84.4)
Rural	112 (15.6)
Occupation
Student	130 (18.1)
Government or Public Institution Employee	65 (9.0)
Corporate Employee	218 (16.9)
Professional Technician	95 (13.2)
Commercial Service Industry Employee	30 (4.2)
Manufacturing Worker	14 (1.9)
Freelancer	70 (9.7)
Peasant worker	13 (1.8)
Agricultural/Forestry/Pastoral/Fishery Worker	4 (0.6)
Retired	43 (6.0)
Unemployed/Laid off	38 (5.3)
Personal Monthly Income
No income	105 (14.6)
2000 RMB and below	59 (8.2)
2001–5000 RMB	226 (31.4)
5001–10,000 RMB	246 (34.2)
10,001–20,000 RMB	66 (9.2)
Above 20,000 RMB	18 (2.5)

Table 2 Participants’ Selection Rates for Different Options and Accuracy Rates for Various Knowledge Categories

Items	True	False	Do Not Know
Current Status of Monkeypox Spread (Correctness rate: 47.84%)
Monkeypox infections are prevalent in West and Central Africa.	477 (66.25) *	41 (5.69)	202 (28.06)
To date, monkeypox has not seen a widespread outbreak in China.	527 (73.19) *	105 (14.58)	88 (12.22)
The countries where monkeypox is most prevalent are Southeast Asia.	267 (37.08)	199 (27.64)*	254 (35.28)
The countries where monkeypox is most prevalent are in the Americas.	304 (42.22)	175 (24.31)*	241 (33.47)
Monkeypox Basics (Correctness rate: 35.35%)
Monkeypox is an infection caused by bacteria.	397 (55.14)	183 (25.42)*	140 (19.44)
It is an infectious disease to which the general population is highly susceptible.	423 (58.75)*	189 (26.25)	108 (15.0)
The monkeypox virus is a type of chickenpox virus.	358 (49.72)	166 (23.06)*	196 (27.22)
Monkeypox is a self-limiting disease.	246 (34.17)*	287 (39.86)	187 (25.97)
Transmission Mode (Correctness rate: 63.75%)
Monkeypox can be transmitted through touch, kissing, or sexual contact.	497 (69.03)*	82 (11.39)	141 (19.58)
The monkeypox virus can spread through aerosol transmission nearby.	421 (58.47)*	138 (19.17)	161 (22.36)
Signs and Symptoms (Correctness rate: 46.71%)
The monkeypox virus generally has no incubation period, and symptoms appear immediately after infection.	203 (28.19)	322 (44.72)*	195 (27.08)
Monkeypox presents clinical signs and symptoms reminiscent of smallpox.	474 (65.83)*	66 (9.17)	180 (25.0)
Enlarged lymph nodes serve as a distinctive clinical manifestation differentiating monkeypox from smallpox.	386 (53.61)*	63 (8.75)	271 (37.64)
Cutaneous eruptions stand as one of the hallmarks of human monkeypox infection.	440 (61.11)*	102 (14.17)	178 (24.72)
Flu-like syndromes do not feature prominently in the early stages of human monkeypox.	305 (42.36)	174 (24.17)*	241 (33.47)
Lesions induced by monkeypox infection predominantly localize on the torso rather than the face or extremities.	292 (40.56)	222 (30.83)*	206 (28.61)
Prevention of Monkeypox (Correctness rate: 59.65%)
Donning masks, circumventing close contact, and abstaining from sexual activities can mitigate monkeypox transmission risk.	536 (74.44)*	66 (9.17)	118 (16.39)
Vaccination has not proved efficacious in curbing the spread of monkeypox.	216 (30.0)	323 (44.86)*	181 (25.14)
Treatment of Monkeypox (Correctness rate: 36.81%)
For symptomatic monkeypox patients, one of the treatment options is using aspirin.	257 (35.69)	123 (17.08)*	340 (47.22)
Another viable treatment avenue for symptomatic monkeypox cases involves the administration of acetaminophen (paracetamol).	329 (45.69)*	78 (10.83)	313 (43.47)
Antibiotics are imperative for the management of monkeypox patients.	369 (51.25)	117 (16.25)*	234 (32.5)
Following a professional assessment, individuals with mild monkeypox infections may undergo treatment in home isolation.	491 (68.19)*	66 (9.17)	163 (22.64)

Note: An asterisk (*) indicates the correct response.

Table 3 Mean and Standard Deviation of Core Variables

Variable	Mean ± SD
Social Media Exposure	4.30 ± 1.81
Online News Exposure	4.11 ± 1.83
Official Health Website Exposure	3.92 ± 1.92
Print Media Exposure	3.37 ± 1.91
Radio Exposure	3.08 ± 1.90
Television Exposure	3.59 ± 1.93
Interpersonal Communication	2.80 ± 1.73
Perceived salience of information	4.98 ± 1.73
Perceived Fear	4.64 ± 1.81

Figure 1 Participants’ mastery level of monkeypox knowledge.

Table 4 Results of Hierarchical Regression Analysis

	Level 1					Level 2
	B	SE	t	p	β	B	SE	t	p	β
Constant	7.056**	0.974	7.242	<0.01	–	0.849	1.034	0.821	0.412	–
Biological Sex (Male)	−0.488	0.36	−1.356	0.176	−0.053	−0.167	0.323	−0.517	0.605	−0.018
Age	0.006	0.015	0.434	0.664	0.019	0.008	0.014	0.59	0.555	0.024
Education Level	0.38	0.194	1.954	0.051	0.076	0.613**	0.176	3.479	0.001	0.123
Residence (Urban)	0.295	0.504	0.584	0.559	0.023	0.303	0.448	0.675	0.5	0.024
Monthly Income	0.323	0.164	1.963	0.05	0.088	0.051	0.149	0.347	0.729	0.014
Perceived salience of information						0.326**	0.108	3.02	0.003	0.123
Perceived Fear						−0.08	0.097	−0.829	0.407	−0.032
Interpersonal Communication						0.291*	0.133	2.192	0.029	0.11
Social Media Exposure						0.303*	0.134	2.263	0.024	0.12
Online News Exposure						0.163	0.15	1.091	0.276	0.065
Official Health Website Exposure						0.354*	0.144	2.464	0.014	0.148
Print Media Exposure						0.207	0.153	1.353	0.176	0.086
Radio Exposure						−0.175	0.156	−1.116	0.265	−0.073
Television Exposure						0.069	0.131	0.531	0.596	0.029
R 2	0.022					0.244
Adjusted R 2	0.015					0.229
F value	F (5714)=3.153, p=0.008					F (14,705)=16.241, p<0.01
ΔR 2	0.022					0.222
ΔF value	F (5714)=3.153, p=0.008					F (9705)=23.026, p<0.01

Notes: Dependent Variable: Total Knowledge Score. *p<0.05 **p<0.01.

Table 5 Moderation Effect Analysis Results (n=720)

	Level 1					Level 2					Level 3
	B	SE	t	p	β	B	SE	t	p	β	B	SE	t	p	β
Constant	8.538**	0.547	15.617	<0.01	–	8.809**	0.551	15.981	<0.01	–	8.727**	0.551	15.828	<0.01	–
Biological Sex (Male)	−0.302	0.331	−0.912	0.362	−0.033	−0.188	0.331	−0.566	0.571	−0.02	−0.209	0.331	−0.632	0.528	−0.023
Age	0.013	0.014	0.913	0.362	0.036	0.018	0.014	1.297	0.195	0.052	0.02	0.014	1.482	0.139	0.059
Monthly Income	0.271	0.148	1.829	0.068	0.074	0.17	0.151	1.125	0.261	0.046	0.175	0.151	1.163	0.245	0.048
Residence (Urban)	0.408	0.459	0.889	0.374	0.032	0.193	0.462	0.417	0.677	0.015	0.189	0.461	0.41	0.682	0.015
Social Media Exposure	0.99**	0.087	11.439	<0.01	0.393	1.009**	0.086	11.691	<0.01	0.4	1.021**	0.086	11.833	<0.01	0.405
Education Level						0.534**	0.179	2.987	0.003	0.107	0.537**	0.178	3.012	0.003	0.107
Social Media Exposure * Education Level											0.19*	0.092	2.059	0.04	0.07
R 2	0.169					0.179					0.184
Adjusted R 2	0.163					0.172					0.176
F value	F (5714)=28.982, p<0.01					F (6713)=25.906, p<0.01					F (7712)=22.912, p<0.01
ΔR 2	0.169					0.01					0.005
ΔF value	F (5714)=28.982, p<0.01					F (1713)=8.921, p=0.003					F (1712)=4.239, p=0.040

Notes: Dependent Variable: Total Knowledge Score. *p<0.05 **p<0.01.

Figure 2 Simple slope plot illustrating the interaction effect between social media exposure and education level.

Figure 3 Johnson-Neyman plot illustrating the interaction effect between social media exposure and educational level.

Data Sharing Statement

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.