Adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and associated factors in Oromia regional state of Ethiopia

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 16; no. 10; p. e0257373
• Main Authors: Abeya, Sileshi Garoma, Barkesa, Sagni Bobo, Sadi, Chala Gari, Gemeda, Dereje Duguma, Muleta, Fekadu Yadeta, Tolera, Asebe Feyera, Ayana, Dashe Negewo, Mohammed, Seada Ahmed, Wako, Endale Bacha, Hurisa, Mengistu Bekele, Bayisa, Dereje Abdena, Sarbesa, Mirgisa Kaba, Yesuf, Eliyas Yosuf, Tufa, Asebe Amenu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 20-10-2021; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis; Biology and Life Sciences; Bivariate analysis; Computer and Information Sciences; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; Data collection; Disease prevention; Disease transmission; Earth Sciences; Economic aspects; Epidemics; Epidemiologic methods; Ethiopia - epidemiology; Female; Guideline Adherence; Health Behavior; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Literacy; Male; Mathematical analysis; Medicine and Health Sciences; Middle Aged; Pandemics; People and Places; Physical Sciences; Prevention; Public health; Public opinion; Qualitative analysis; SARS-CoV-2; Social aspects; Social Sciences; Viral diseases; Viruses; Ethiopia; China; Africa; Addis Ababa Ethiopia
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257373

Adherence to preventive measures of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was among the means to tackle the transmission of the virus. However, reluctance to implement the recommended preventive measures has been reported to be a major problem everywhere including Oromia Regional State.
This research was aimed to assess the level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and associated factors in the study area.
Community based cross-sectional study was conducted. Sample of 2751 adults aged ≥ 18 years were used for the quantitative study. Also, 20 FGDs and 30 KIIs were conducted in the qualitative approach. The collected data were entered into Epi info version 7.2.0.1 and analyzed using STATA 15. The qualitative data were entered into NVivo version 12 for its organization. Bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between the study variables. Odds Ratio with its 95%CI was calculated and P- Value < 0.05 was used as a cut off points to declare the significance.
The level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measure was 8.3. Age [AOR, 4.00; 95% CI: 1.50, 10.45], Illiterate AOR, 0.38; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.93], read and write [AOR, 0.26; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.72], attended primary [AOR, 0.30; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.70], occupation (AOR; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.96] and knowledge [AOR, 0.20; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.11] were factors associated with level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. Political context, unemployment, livelihoods, and social events were mentioned as reasons for the poor adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures.
The overall level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures in the study area was low. Age, level of education, occupation, and knowledge were factors associated with level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. Activities to increase the adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures should be implemented by the concerned bodies.