Knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 among government employees in Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Background:Knowledge and perceptions of the public about the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) play a critical role in the prevention of the disease through adopting effective preventive measures. The aim of this study wasto assess the knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 as well as the source of information about the disease among government employees.Methods:A cross-sectional survey of 1,573 government employees from 46 public institutions located in Addis Ababawas undertaken from 8thto 19thJune 2020.Systematicrandom sampling or consecutive sampling techniques were used to select the study participants. Paper-based self-administeredquestionnaires were used for data collection.ANOVA test and t-test wereused to assess the difference between the groups. Results:The respondents demonstrated very high knowledge of the cause of COVID-19 (93%), its main clinical symptoms (>90%), modes of transmission (89%), and the main preventive measures (>90%).Almost all respondents reportedthat people with travel history (86.8%) or people with closecontact with COVID-19 patients (93.5%) were at higher risk to coronavirusinfection. About 51% of the participants reported that people without travel history or people who had no contact with confirmed cases werealso at risk of infection. About 84% of the respondents perceived those older adults above 60 years were most at risk to die from COVID-19. Themajority of the respondents reported that adults with other underlying health problems (95.4%), cigarette smokers (88.1%) and substanceusers (87.5%) were more likely to die from the disease.Television (32.2%) and health workers (30.5%) constituted the most trusted sources of information related to COVID-19.Conclusions:This study has found higherlevelsof knowledge and perceptionsamong respondents about COVID-19. Efforts should be focused on improving the knowledge, perceived susceptibility, severity, and benefits of preventive measuresby providing timely and adequate informationthrough trusted sources of information.

Why is Perinatal Mortality Higher among Women Delivered at Health Facility in Rural Northwest Ehiopia? A Qualitative Study.

This study investigated the reasons for high perinatal deaths among newborns delivered in health facilities in rural northwest Ethiopia. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 survivors of obstetric complications and 11 normal home deliveries. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Open code qualitative 3.6 software was used for managing data and analysis. The primary reasons attributed to high mortality among health-facility-delivered babies were delay in recognizing danger signs of labor and delay in decision to seek care. Most women arrive to health institutions late with seriously complicated labor. Lack of transport, finance, and perceived poor quality of services are additional reasons to delayed seeking of health care during labor. Increasing public education on danger signs of labour, improving quality of emergency obstetric care in the nearby health facilities, and facilitating affordable referral mechanisms are critical to enhance prompt household decisionmaking and decreasing perinatal deaths in rural communities.

Examining Perceptions of Rapid Population Growth in North and South Gondar Zones, Northwest Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is one of the most populous countries in Africa and ranks second only to Nigeria. Rapid population growth has hampered the country’s development, making the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger difficult. This study which had two components—quantitative and qualitative—was aimed at exploring the perceptions of women and other social groups on the prevailing population pressures. The quantitative study involved 3,512 women aged 15-49 years. The qualitative study consisted of five focus-group discussions and six key-informant interviews. Over 90% of women (n=3,512) who participated in the quantitative study and nearly all the focus-group discussants and interviewees (n=39) felt that something should be done to keep the population from growing too fast. Most (over 90%) participants approved of the Government passing a law regarding the maximum number of children that a couple should have. It is, therefore, timely for the responsible bodies to exert maximum effort and commitment in responding to the emerging attitudes of the people by making the population problem a priority.