Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2021 Sep 7;16(9):e0257112. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257112. eCollection 2021.
Public health and social interventions are critical to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Ethiopia has implemented a variety of public health and social measures to control the pandemic. This study aimed to assess social distancing and public health preventive practices of government employees in response to COVID-19. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,573 government employees selected from 46 public institutions located in Addis Ababa. Data were collected from 8th to 19th June 2020 using a paper-based self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with outcome variables (perceived effectiveness of facemask wearing to prevent coronavirus infection, and COVID-19 testing). Majority of the participants reported facemask wearing (96%), avoiding close contact with people including handshaking (94.8%), consistently followed government recommendations (95.6%), frequent handwashing (94.5%), practiced physical distancing (89.5%), avoided mass gatherings and crowded places (88.1%), restricting movement and travelling (71.8%), and stayed home (35.6%). More than 80% of the participants perceived that consistently wearing a facemask is highly effective in preventing coronavirus infection. Respondents from Oromia perceived less about the effectiveness of wearing facemask in preventing coronavirus infection (adjusted OR = 0.27, 95% CI:0.17-0.45). About 19% of the respondents reported that they had ever tested for COVID-19. Respondents between 40-49 years old (adjusted OR = 0.41, 95% CI:0.22-0.76) and 50-66 years (adjusted OR = 0.43, 95% CI:0.19-0.95) were less likely tested for coronavirus than the younger age groups. Similarly, respondents from Oromia were less likely to test for coronavirus (adjusted OR = 0.26, 95% CI:0.12-0.56) than those from national level. Participants who were sure about the availability of COVID-19 testing were more likely to test for coronavirus. About 57% of the respondents perceived that the policy measures in response to the pandemic were inadequate. The findings showed higher social distancing and preventive practices among the government employees in response to COVID-19. Rules and regulations imposed by the government should be enforced and people should properly apply wearing facemasks, frequent handwashing, social and physical distancing measures as a comprehensive package of COVID-19 prevention and control strategies.
公共卫生和社会干预措施对于减轻 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行的传播至关重要。埃塞俄比亚实施了各种公共卫生和社会措施来控制这一大流行病。本研究旨在评估政府雇员对 COVID-19 的社交距离和公共卫生预防措施。从位于亚的斯亚贝巴的 46 个公共机构中选择了 1573 名政府雇员进行了横断面研究。数据于 2020 年 6 月 8 日至 19 日通过纸质自我管理问卷收集，并使用 SPSS 版本 23.0 进行分析。使用描述性统计来总结数据。使用二元逻辑回归分析来确定与结果变量（戴口罩预防冠状病毒感染的有效性和 COVID-19 检测）相关的因素。大多数参与者报告戴口罩（96％），避免与他人密切接触（包括握手）（94.8％），始终遵循政府建议（95.6％），经常洗手（94.5％），保持身体距离（89.5％），避免群众集会和拥挤场所（88.1％），限制行动和旅行（71.8％），并呆在家里（35.6％）。超过 80％的参与者认为，始终戴口罩可高度有效地预防冠状病毒感染。来自奥罗米亚的受访者对戴口罩预防冠状病毒感染的有效性的看法较少（调整后的 OR = 0.27，95％CI：0.17-0.45）。约有 19％的受访者报告说他们曾经接受过 COVID-19 检测。40-49 岁（调整后的 OR = 0.41，95％CI：0.22-0.76）和 50-66 岁（调整后的 OR = 0.43，95％CI：0.19-0.95）的受访者比年轻组更不可能接受冠状病毒检测。同样，来自奥罗米亚的受访者接受冠状病毒检测的可能性也低于全国水平（调整后的 OR = 0.26，95％CI：0.12-0.56）。对 COVID-19 检测可用性有把握的参与者更有可能接受冠状病毒检测。大约 57％的受访者认为应对大流行的政策措施不足。研究结果显示，政府雇员在应对 COVID-19 方面采取了更高的社交距离和预防措施。政府实施的法规和规定应得到执行，人们应正确佩戴口罩，经常洗手，实行社会和身体距离措施，作为 COVID-19 防控策略的综合方案。
