{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T13:07:19Z","timestamp":1785244039755,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":6,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782172800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Asia Pac J Public Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Long COVID has emerged as an important post-pandemic health challenge, yet physician awareness in low- and middle-income countries remains limited. This multicenter cross-sectional study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of physicians in Pakistan regarding COVID-19 and Long COVID using an online survey conducted in 2024. A total of 117 physicians participated. While knowledge of acute COVID-19 was generally adequate, with 74.4% achieving good scores, knowledge of Long COVID was considerably lower, with only 30.8% demonstrating adequate understanding. Although most participants recognized common Long COVID symptoms (94.9%), fewer correctly identified its formal definition (37.6%). Attitudes toward COVID-19 prevention and management were largely positive (86.3%), and most participants reported appropriate clinical practices (97.4%). Female physicians had higher odds of adequate Long COVID knowledge, whereas those with more than 10 years of experience had significantly lower knowledge levels. These findings highlight a substantial gap in physician awareness of Long COVID despite strong preparedness for acute COVID-19. Targeted educational interventions are needed to improve recognition and management of post-COVID conditions, particularly in resource-limited settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/10105395261452741","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T11:09:51Z","timestamp":1782212991000},"page":"423-425","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Physicians in Pakistan Toward COVID-19 and Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Survey"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"38","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9543-6231","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kiren","family":"Habib","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Adult Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7066-7124","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sher M.","family":"Sethi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4982-2799","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iffat","family":"Khanum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Adult Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-6924-3200","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rafai","family":"Babar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-9960-4282","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hamza","family":"Farooqi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1610-8748","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nosheen","family":"Nasir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Adult Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41579-023-00878-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2021.698169"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chest.2025.06.028"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","article-title":"Candidate treatments for long COVID: A narrative review of expert and patient-driven priorities","volume":"13","author":"Baptista SN","year":"2026","unstructured":"Baptista SN, Atkins T, Chakraborty S, Bakhit M, Glasziou P, Byambasuren O. Candidate treatments for long COVID: A narrative review of expert and patient-driven priorities. 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