Abstract

COVID-19 PREVENTION PRACTICES AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG WORKERS IN YIRGALEM AGRO-INDUSTRY PARK, SIDAMA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA, 2020: INSTITUTIONAL BASED CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: COVID-19 outbreak resulted in millions of cases and deaths with an incredible pace of spread. It has been a global public health crisis since December 2019. Though the work behaviors of some organizations can facilitate more ways for the mode of transmission, the potential work areas for the risk of infection are not identified yet. Designing intervention strategies based on the risky assessment findings of a specific population or organization is better. The problem is more significant in developing countries. Methods: Cross-sectional study design was conducted from June 15th to August 15th , 2020. The study was conducted among all active workers of Yirgalem Agro-Industrial park. Data were collected and entered into EpiData 3.1 and exported to SPSS22 for analysis. Factors associated with the practice of prevention were then analyzed. Results: - Among the respondents, 91.8%, 75.1%, and 48.9% had good knowledge, positive attitudes, and good practice toward COVID-19 prevention strategies respectively. Multivariate regression revealed that age, spiritual or sin, training, knowledge, attitude, opposition to wearing, ordinary residents, and hoping leaders can win against COVID-19 were predicted practices of COVID-19 prevention strategies. Conclusion: The practice of COVID-19 prevention strategies was so poor and need adequate attention. Age, spiritual/sin as a cause, prior training, knowledge, attitude, Opposing mask-wearing, and belief in whether to defeat COVID-19 or not were identified as the predictors. It is so important to revamp the current practices and assure the implementation of the standard as expected

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