PONE-D-23-04502Knowledge and practice of facemask disposal among university students in Thailand:a new normal post the COVID-19 pandemicPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. KAEWCHUTIMA,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Moreover, reviewers are critically vocal to;

• Improve language of manuscript by native with same background.
• Add outcome of study as separate section.
• Add a short questionnaire to find out reasons behind such lacking awareness among students.
• And to indicate why fame students were more aware compared to female students.

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Sadia Ilyas, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

Reviewer-1

The authors present an interesting piece providing data and perspective on knowledge and perspective of mask disposal among university students. The data gathering and statistical analysis has been rigorously done, as well as the discussion part. Several actions might be done to improve the paper more:

1. Comprehensive proofreading by native English speakers with relevant backgrounds might improve the paper (if this has not been done).

2. If considered relevant, the authors could present more perspective of knowledge and practice among university students during the pandemic from the more or less same demographic (in this case, e.g., Southeast Asia). These following papers could be considered to be cited: Adli I et al (2022) http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262827 ; Lazarus G et al (2021) https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-021-02576-0

On a side note, I support the authors in disseminating the paper more, such as by panel discussion, webinar, etc., involving central and local policymakers, local academicians, youth representatives, etc.

Reviewer-2

In the present manuscript, the authors performed an investigation on the knowledge and practice of facemask disposal among university students in Thailand. The study is related to COVID-waste management, hence, it is timely and of interests. They used SPSS 25 to analyze the data obtained by the survey conducted within the university. The study is well conducted, however, this reviewer has certain points to mention before its final consideration.

1). My major concern is that after a hilarious pandemic like COVID-19, if up to 70% of students are confused regarding the proper management of used facemasks, it is a serious matter of concern. My point is that why the authors did not include the questionnaires on the topic to find out the reasons behind such lacking awareness among the students. It is expected that the younger generation should be more aware of that. Add a note and additional data.

2). Line 299-300: The authors should mention that why "male have a greater level of understanding than female"

3). The authors should add a separate recommendation section to overcome the issues find out by this study.

4). The authors should include some more articles on discussion like https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141652

5). The authors should add the possible waste management techniques related to face masks.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The authors present an interesting piece providing data and perspective on knowledge and perspective of mask disposal among university students. The data gathering and statistical analysis has been rigorously done, as well as the discussion part. Several actions might be done to improve the paper more:

1. Comprehensive proofreading by native English speakers with relevant backgrounds might improve the paper (if this has not been done).

2. If considered relevant, the authors could present more perspective of knowledge and practice among university students during the pandemic from the more or less same demographic (in this case, e.g., Southeast Asia). These following papers could be considered to be cited: Adli I et al (2022) http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262827 ; Lazarus G et al (2021) https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-021-02576-0

On a side note, I support the authors in disseminating the paper more, such as by panel discussion, webinar, etc., involving central and local policymakers, local academicians, youth representatives, etc.

Regards,

Reviewer

Reviewer #2: In the present manuscript, the authors performed an investigation on the knowledge and practice of facemask disposal among university students in Thailand. The study is related to COVID-waste management, hence, it is timely and of interests. They used SPSS 25 to analyze the data obtained by the survey conducted within the university. The study is well conducted, however, this reviewer has certain points to mention before its final consideration.

1). My major concern is that after a hilarious pandemic like COVID-19, if up to 70% of students are confused regarding the proper management of used facemasks, it is a serious matter of concern. My point is that why the authors did not include the questionnaires on the topic to find out the reasons behind such lacking awareness among the students. It is expected that the younger generation should be more aware of that. Add a note and additional data.

2). Line 299-300: The authors should mention that why "male have a greater level of understanding than female"

3). The authors should add a separate recommendation section to overcome the issues find out by this study.

4). The authors should include some more articles on discussion like https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141652

5). The authors should add the possible waste management techniques related to face masks.

********** 

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Nico Gamalliel, MD

Reviewer #2: No

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Submitted filename: PONE-D-23-04502.comments.docx

Knowledge and practice of facemask disposal among university students in Thailand: A new normal post the COVID-19 pandemic

PONE-D-23-04502R1

Dear Dr. Narisara,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Sadia Ilyas, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments: