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Background People's perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated risk are very essential to prevent the spread of the infection. The awareness among individuals may contribute to preventing COVID-19 infections. Coronavirus disease is a serious public health issue. However, preventive practices toward COVID-19 are relatively unknown. The present study aims to survey the risk perception and preventive practice during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general population in Odisha. Method A cross-sectional online survey among 395 participants was conducted by adopting the convenience sampling technique. The tools used for the survey consist of three divisions: collection of sociodemographic data, assessment of risk perception toward COVID-19, and assessment of preventive practices during COVID-19 through an online survey method. Results The majority (83.29%) of the participants strongly agreed that social distancing is necessary to control the transmission of COVID-19, 65.82% strongly agreed that lockdown is relevant to control COVID-19 spread, 49.62% strongly agreed that wearing a mask protects from the infection, and 40.25% strongly agreed that they will be able to connect with healthcare professionals if they are infected with COVID-19 infection. The finding revealed that the highest number of participants are always practicing all the preventive measures such as maintaining hand hygiene (77.21%), wearing a mask (68.10%), avoiding shaking hands (87.59%), willingness to seek medical help (90.37%), avoiding going to the market or meeting friends (80.75%), discussing preventive measures related to COVID-19 with their family members (76.45%), and eating only homemade food (87.34%). Conclusion This study found that an average number of study participants who had the highest level of practice on preventive measures are those who had higher perceived risk among the general population. Expanding the knowledge regarding the infection and its ill effect on health through the proper channel can bring a drastic change in the attitude of the general public. As many people depend on television and social media for acquiring information about COVID-19, any information that reaches the public should be accurate and based on evidence. To avoid miscommunication and the further spread of COVID-19, health education and awareness have to be implemented to increase self-efficacy and risk identification among the general public, which eventually increases the practice of preventive measures.
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Objectives: COVID-19 is a global health concern due to its rapid spread and impact on morbidity and mortality. Implementing preventive measures plays an essential role in curbing the spread of COVID-19 infection. This study aimed to assess COVID-19 preventive practice and associated factors in Ethiopia. Study design: This study was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Methods: Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, EMBASE, African Journal Online (AJOL) and Science Direct search engines were used to identify relevant articles published up to early December 2021. The Joana Brigg's Institute (JBI) checklist was used for quality appraisal. A random-effect model was fitted to calculate the pooled estimates. Higgins I2 statistics and Egger's test with funnel plots were analysed to check heterogeneity and publication bias, respectively. Due to significant heterogeneity, subgroup analysis by region, study population, study design and publication year, as well as sensitivity analysis, were done to assess the source of heterogeneity. Results: The pooled level of poor preventive practice for COVID-19 in Ethiopia was 51.60% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 40.30-62.90). Poor COVID-19 preventive practice declined from 61% in studies published in 2020 to 45% in 2021. Lack of knowledge about COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 4.61 [95% CI: 2.49-10.73]), a negative attitude towards COVID-19 management (AOR = 2.64 [95% CI: 1.82-3.82]), rural residence (AOR = 2.95 [95% CI: 2.12-4.12]), a low educational level (AOR = 2.93 [95% CI: 2.16-3.98]) and being female (AOR = 1.75 [95% CI: 1.27-2.40]) were significantly associated with a poor level of COVID-19 preventive practice in Ethiopia. Conclusions: The level of poor COVID-19 preventive practice in Ethiopia was relatively high. Poor COVID-19 prevention practices were significantly correlated with inadequate COVID-19 knowledge, a negative attitude towards COVID-19 management, low educational attainment, living in a rural area and being female. Creating awareness and health education programmes targeting COVID-19 prevention should be strengthened, especially in the target populations identified in this study.
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BACKGROUND: The corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection is a current public health crisis, and it is challenging to the world health-care system. As there is no treatment, prevention is the crucial importance to break the chain of transmission of infection and prevent fatality among the high-risk populations. The aim of the study was to assess the Expressed COVID-19 preventive practices among health-care workers (HCWs) and the public visiting tertiary care hospital, AIIMS, Jodhpur. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 406 HCWs and 238 public, recruited by convenient sampling technique. A validated and pretested self-structured practice questionnaire used to collect the data regarding COVID-19 preventive practice. The data were collected through online Google Forms and interview techniques and analyzed by software SPSS 26 version. RESULTS: Majority of 87.7% HCWs and 76.5% public always followed practice of hand wash with soap and water and sanitize for 20 s. Majority of 79.6% HCWs and 49.2% public maintain social distance in public place. Gender (χ 2 = 18.806 P ≤ 0.001) and education (χ 2 = 43.270 P ≤ 0.001) among HCWs and in public demographic variable income (χ 2 = 21.102 P = 0.002), religion (χ 2 = 13.302 P = 0.006) and source of information (χ 2 = 17.030 P = 0.026) was significantly associated with level of COVID-19 preventive practice. CONCLUSION: The study showed moderate level of COVID-19 preventive practice among HCWs and public. Based on this result, an effective IEC intervention programs can be designed to educate public and HCWs and follow a safe COVID-19 preventive practice.
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INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 pandemic has placed the entire world, including Malaysia in a state of fear. The rising burden on healthcare facilities has put healthcare workers consistently at risk of healthcare-associated infection. We sought to identify determinants of preventive practice against COVID-19 at work among primary healthcare professionals in Sabah, Malaysia. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study involving healthcare workers of the Penampang and Putatan districts of Sabah, Malaysia. A total of 167 health professionals from primary healthcare settings took part in this study via a self-administered questionnaire from November 2020 until January 2021. Independent t-test and Analysis of Variance were used to determine differences in preventive practice for categorical independent variables. Pearson product-moment correlation was applied to assess the relationship between Job Satisfaction, burnout, and preventive practice. Subsequently, predictors of preventive practice at work among healthcare workers in Sabah were identified through Binomial Logistic Regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of good preventive practice among health professionals at work was 71.3%. There was no difference in preventive practice between professions. Almost all participants reported having good personal protective equipment compliance and hand hygiene practice at work. Marital status (AOR = 4.170, 95% CI = 1.787, 9.733; p = 0.001), average sleep hours (AOR = 1.775, 95% CI = 1.144, 2.754; p = 0.01), and pandemic-related burnout (AOR = 0.905, 95% CI = 0.847, 0.967; p = 0.003) were identified as significant predictors of preventive practice at primary healthcare facilities. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of this study is beneficial to the healthcare organization. It can serve as a useful guide to tackle issues related to poor preventive practice against COVID-19 at work for health professionals.
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COVID-19 , Pandemics , Cross-Sectional Studies , Health Personnel , Humans , Malaysia/epidemiology , Primary Health Care , SARS-CoV-2 , WorkplaceABSTRACT
COVID-19 has become a threat to the existence of man as no method of effective treatment has been found. Although the WHO has given guidelines that include social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it cannot be practiced in a commercial motorcycle operation, which is a major source of income and means of transportation in Nigeria. We examined the COVID-19 knowledge, awareness, and preventive practices among commercial motorcycle operators (CMOs) and the potentials for community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the South-South region of Nigeria. Data used was collected from a cross-sectional survey of 777 CMOs operating in the South-South region of Nigeria. The instrument captured information on their biodata, knowledge, awareness, and preventive practices of COVID-19. The data obtained were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics using SAS JMP Statistical Discovery™ software version 14.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA). The majority of the CMOs were of age category 26-35 years (36.4%), married (82.1%), under a monogamous union (83.8%), had 3-4 children (43.4%) and resided in rural areas (60.8%). The mean years of experience of the CMOs was 4.9 ± 2.45 years with most depending on daily income of N1,000-2,000 (87.6%). All the CMOs were aware of the existence of COVID-19, but 93.3% of them did not believe it existed in their state. Only 37.8% of them put on facemasks while on duty, although they were aware that they could be infected or infect others in the community. Prevention practices among CMOs were significantly predicted by age category, type of family, number of dependents, and place of residence. We conclude that CMOs have high potentials for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the communities because the business does not permit social distancing. It is recommended that guidelines requiring mandatory screening of operators and riders be implemented.
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BACKGROUND: Corona virus pandemic (COVID 19) has emerged as the single most important topical issue and poses a challenge to medicine. Adolescent school children are exposed to a varying degree. OBJECTIVES: The study is aimed to determine the knowledge of the mode of spread and preventive practices among college adolescents attending six secondary schools in Enugu metropolis. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional study carried out in 6 secondary schools among 500 college adolescents. A pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. RESULTS: Majority of the respondents, 98.4% were aware of COVID-19. Although, a higher proportion of the respondents, 52.0% were aware COVID-19 could be transmitted through contact with infected persons, only a minor proportion of them, 42.4% had a good knowledge of the mode of spread of COVID-19. However, a high proportion of the respondents, 69.2% practiced good preventive measures against COVID-19. Also, respondents whose parents were self-employed were 1.4 times more likely to have good knowledge of the mode of spread of COVID-19 when compared with those whose parents were on paid employment [adjusted odd ratio (AOR) = 1.4, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.9-2.0]. The respondents whose fathers have attained tertiary education were 1.6 times more likely to have good preventive practices against COVID-19 when compared with those who had secondary school and below (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.04-2.5). CONCLUSION: Though college adolescents were aware of COVID-19, not a significant proportion practiced good preventive measures against COVID-19. Knowledge of mode of spread and preventive practices were significantly enhanced by fathers' educational status and being a female adolescent child.
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COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19/transmission , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Adolescent , Cross-Sectional Studies , Educational Status , Female , Humans , Male , Nigeria , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Healthcare professionals are at the frontline facing the pandemic. Since the pandemic is new with sophisticated needs of resources, identifying perceived barriers of the healthcare institutions has an important input for the government in slowing the viral spread and prevents healthcare professionals from infection. OBJECTIVE: The study was aimed to assessperceived barriers and preventive measures of corona virus disease among healthcare providers in Debretabor Town, north central Ethiopia. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthcare providers working in Debretabor town, north central Ethiopia from May 1 to 15, 2020. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were coded, entered, cleaned, and checked using Epi data statistical software version 4.2.0.0 and analysis using STATA Version 14 statistical software. Descriptive statistics of different variables were presented in figures, text, and tables. Chi-square (chi2) test of independence was considered to examine the nonparametric association of factors with preventive practice, and association was considered at a P-value of less than 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 183 healthcare providers participated in the survey, of which 67.76% were males, and 80.87% were in the age range of 25-35 years. About 45% of participants were nurses. In the current study, overall preventive practice was 68.3%. Despite recommendations by the World Health Organization, avoidance of outdoor, physical distancing, and avoiding meeting a person with a coughwere not implemented by 32.24%, 24.18%, and 13.11% of healthcare providers, respectively. Insufficient training, lack of policy, less commitment to infection control, and limitations of resources were perceived as major barriers for practicing preventive measures during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Preventive measures taken by healthcare providers were poor. Multiple barriers, such as insufficient training related to the pandemic, limitation of resources, and less commitment of healthcare providers to infection prevention measures were reported. So, the government should work on reducing the pandemic propagation by fulfilling the barriers using different means or strategies.