Wondimagegn Wondimu1, Amare Ejigu2, Mengistu Ayenew1, Angesom Weldu Kidnau1, Wondwossen Niguse3, Mesfin Geremaw4, Gizachew Ayele Manaye5, Ashenafi Assefa Berchedi3. 1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Mizan-Tepi University, Mizan Aman, Ethiopia. 2. Department of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Science, Mizan-Tepi University, Mizan Aman, Ethiopia. 3. Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Science, Mizan-Tepi University, Mizan Aman, Ethiopia. 4. Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Mizan-Tepi University, Mizan Aman, Ethiopia. 5. Department of Medical Laboratory, College of Medicine and Health Science, Mizan-Tepi University, Mizan Aman, Ethiopia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and related deaths are increasing exponentially in Ethiopia. Prevention is currently available effective management, and its implementation has not been assessed adequately. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with COVID-19 prevention practices in three zones of southwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Bench Sheko, Kafa, and West Omo zones. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 845 study participants. The data collection tool was adapted from the WHO resources and related literature. Independent factors were identified using binary logistic regression and a p-value less than 0.05 was used to declare the level of statistical significance. RESULTS: In this study, 803 participants participated. About two-thirds (64.7%) of the respondents had a history of going to crowded places, while only 30.3% of the participants had a history of wearing a mask when leaving home. Two-thirds of the respondents had a history of maintaining their distance at 2 meters (64.4%) and washing their hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers (64.8%). Generally, less than two-thirds (59.4%) of study participants had a good prevention practices of COVID-19. Urban residence (AOR [adjusted odds ratio] =2.34; 95% CI=1.39, 3.94), highest family size (AOR=2.95; 95% CI=1.56, 5.57), good knowledge (AOR=1.74; 95% CI=1.10, 2.77), positive attitude (AOR=1.86; 95% CI=1.27, 2.73), intention to seek care (AOR=1.73; 95% CI=1.13, 2.63), and perceived mortality (AOR=2.20; 95% CI=1.50, 3.08) were positively associated with good prevention practices. CONCLUSION: The proportion of individuals who had good COVID-19 prevention practices was inadequate. For such highly infectious diseases, prevention should be the priority intervention, and improving its implementation needs further effort. Community-based interventions such as risk communication and mass education should center on scaling up community knowledge and practice by prioritizing vulnerable groups such as rural residents.
BACKGROUND: The cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and related deaths are increasing exponentially in Ethiopia. Prevention is currently available effective management, and its implementation has not been assessed adequately. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with COVID-19 prevention practices in three zones of southwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Bench Sheko, Kafa, and West Omo zones. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 845 study participants. The data collection tool was adapted from the WHO resources and related literature. Independent factors were identified using binary logistic regression and a p-value less than 0.05 was used to declare the level of statistical significance. RESULTS: In this study, 803 participants participated. About two-thirds (64.7%) of the respondents had a history of going to crowded places, while only 30.3% of the participants had a history of wearing a mask when leaving home. Two-thirds of the respondents had a history of maintaining their distance at 2 meters (64.4%) and washing their hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers (64.8%). Generally, less than two-thirds (59.4%) of study participants had a good prevention practices of COVID-19. Urban residence (AOR [adjusted odds ratio] =2.34; 95% CI=1.39, 3.94), highest family size (AOR=2.95; 95% CI=1.56, 5.57), good knowledge (AOR=1.74; 95% CI=1.10, 2.77), positive attitude (AOR=1.86; 95% CI=1.27, 2.73), intention to seek care (AOR=1.73; 95% CI=1.13, 2.63), and perceived mortality (AOR=2.20; 95% CI=1.50, 3.08) were positively associated with good prevention practices. CONCLUSION: The proportion of individuals who had good COVID-19 prevention practices was inadequate. For such highly infectious diseases, prevention should be the priority intervention, and improving its implementation needs further effort. Community-based interventions such as risk communication and mass education should center on scaling up community knowledge and practice by prioritizing vulnerable groups such as rural residents.
Authors: Johan A Oldekop; Rory Horner; David Hulme; Roshan Adhikari; Bina Agarwal; Matthew Alford; Oliver Bakewell; Nicola Banks; Stephanie Barrientos; Tanja Bastia; Anthony J Bebbington; Upasak Das; Ralitza Dimova; Richard Duncombe; Charis Enns; David Fielding; Christopher Foster; Timothy Foster; Tomas Frederiksen; Ping Gao; Tom Gillespie; Richard Heeks; Sam Hickey; Martin Hess; Nicholas Jepson; Ambarish Karamchedu; Uma Kothari; Aarti Krishnan; Tom Lavers; Aminu Mamman; Diana Mitlin; Negar Monazam Tabrizi; Tanja R Müller; Khalid Nadvi; Giovanni Pasquali; Rose Pritchard; Kate Pruce; Chris Rees; Jaco Renken; Antonio Savoia; Seth Schindler; Annika Surmeier; Gindo Tampubolon; Matthew Tyce; Vidhya Unnikrishnan; Yin-Fang Zhang Journal: World Dev Date: 2020-06-20