COVID-19 knowledge, attitude and frequent hand hygiene practices among taxi drivers and associated factors in urban areas of Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Although several studies have been conducted on COVID-19 knowledge, attitude and prevention practices among healthcare workers and the general population, there has not been any study among taxi drivers in Ethiopia, including Dessie City and Kombolcha Town, the lack of which hinders providing evidence-based interventions to this target group. Thus, this study was designed to contribute to proper planning of COVID-19 intervention measures among taxi drivers in Dessie City and Kombolcha Town, Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 417 taxi drivers in Dessie City and Kombolcha Town during July to August, 2020. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire and an observational checklist. The collected data was checked, coded and entered to EpiData version 4.6 and exported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 for data cleaning and analysis. The outcome variables of this study were good or poor knowledge, positive or negative attitude and good or poor frequent hand hygiene practices towards COVID-19. Bivariate (Crude Odds Ratio [COR]) and multivariable (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]) logistic regression analysis were employed to identify factors significantly associated with good knowledge, positive attitude and good frequent hand hygiene practices among taxi drivers. Significance level of variables was declared at a p < 0.05 from the adjusted analysis. Main findings Out of the total 417 taxi drivers, 69.8% [95% CI: 65.2–73.9], 67.6% [95%CI: 63.1–72.2] and 66.4% [95% CI: 62.1–71.0] of the drivers had good knowledge, positive attitude and good frequent hand hygiene practices, respectively. Educational level (AOR = 7.55, 95% CI = 4.55–12.54), place of residence (AOR = 5.41, 95% CI = 1.4–20.08) and attitude towards COVID-19 prevention (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.02–2.74) were factors associated with good knowledge about COVID-19. Further, age of taxi drivers greater than 30 years (AOR = 3.01, 95% CI = 1.76–5.13), educational level of secondary or above (AOR = 3.16, 95% CI = 1.88–5.31), income (AOR = 3.36, 95% CI = 1.48–7.61), and knowledge about COVID-19 (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.21–3.54) were factors associated with positive attitude towards COVID-19 prevention. In addition, attitude towards COVID-19 (AOR = 5.5, 95% CI = 3.40–8.88) and educational level (AOR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.15–2.95) were the factors associated with good frequent hand hygiene practices. Conclusion We concluded that the rates of good knowledge, positive attitude and good frequent hand hygiene practices were relatively low among taxi drivers in Dessie City and Kombolcha Town. We strongly recommended providing training about COVID-19 prevention measures for taxi drivers that considers age, education status and attitude areas essential to improve their knowledge, attitude and frequent hand hygiene practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Effect of Hand-washing Education on Patients’ Knowledge and Practice of Infectious Disease Prevention in Selected Health Centers in Akure South, Ondo State

“…This study had majority (83.7%) as Yoruba, (88.8%) of the respondents were Christians and (65.3%) had tertiary education. The findings is contrary to the study of [14] from Ethiopia on COVID-19 knowledge, attitude and frequent hand hygiene practices among taxi drivers and associated factors had majority of respondents less than 30years of age with mean age of 29years, majority had secondary school education but (63.8%) were Muslims.…”

The effect of compliance to Hand hygiene during COVID-19 on intestinal parasitic infection and intensity of soil transmitted helminthes, among patients attending general hospital, southern Ethiopia: Observational study

“…This level of compliance is very low as compared to 90% or more suggested by the world health organization [ 34 ]. However, the HH compliance rate reported in this study was also low compared to the 76.4% reported from Japan [ 35 ], 94.5% observed by Mieth et al [ 36 ], 79.44% to 96.71% in China [ 37 ], 90%- 100% in Australia [ 38 ], 60% and 70% reported in recent systemic review [ 39 ], 63.45% in European countries [ 31 ] and among taxi drivers in Dessie Ethiopia [ 25 ]. This result highlights of great concern to the public health campaign on hand hygiene in further control of SARS COV-2 strain.…”

“…Nevertheless compliance to hand hygiene has been linked with the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing transmission of pathogenic microorganisms which is even more relevant in the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic [ 11 , 18 , 21 , 22 ]. Currently WHO/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Ethiopian minster of health jointly released statement of recommendation on intensive hand hygiene as one of the essential means to prevent the spread of COVID-19 [ 23 – 25 ]. Unfortunately, overall, hand hygiene compliance remains insufficient, and compliance levels as low as 5% have been reported from low-income countries [ 26 ].…”

Hand hygiene practices during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors among barbers and beauty salon workers in Ethiopia

“…The result was lower than that found by a study in a similar area among taxi drivers, which was 66.4%. This difference may have been due to the difference in study period and type of question used [29]. The result was also lower than found in other studies from Ethiopia (82%), (76%) and (95.5%) [41][42][43], Nigeria (95.3%) and (69.9%) [44,45], Malaysia (87.8%) [46], Poland (58.4%) [21], Japan (58.5%) [47], China (79.44%) [48], and United States (85.2%) [49].…”

“…Good hand hygiene practices. Study participants who correctly answered a number of questions greater than or equal to the mean from 11 total questions about hand hygiene practices using clean water and soap or alcohol-based hand sanitizer [29].…”