Knowledge level and factors influencing prevention of COVID-19 pandemic among residents of Dessie and Kombolcha City administrations, North-East Ethiopia: a population-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectiveIn Ethiopia, community-level knowledge about the current COVID-19 pandemic has not been well studied. This study is aimed to assess knowledge level and factors influencing the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic among residents of Dessie and Kombolcha city administrations, Ethiopia.DesignCommunity-based cross-sectional study.SettingsDessie and Kombolcha city administrations.ParticipantsParticipants were household heads or members (n=828, >18 years) who have lived in the study area for at least 2 months preceding the survey.MethodsBinary logistic regression was used for a single outcome and multiple response variables. In the multivariable regression model, a value of p<0.05 and adjusted OR (AOR) with 95% CI were used to identify factors associated with knowledge level of the community. Epi Info V.7.2 and SPSS V.20 software were used for data entry and analysis, respectively.OutcomeKnowledge level.ResultsA total of 828 participants was involved with a response rate of 98%. Women were 61.7%. Participants’ mean (±SD) age was 39 (±14) years. Of the total participants 54.11% (95% CI 50.6% to 57.6%) had inadequate knowledge about COVID-19 prevention. Significant associations were reported among women (AOR=1.41; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.92); age ≥65 years (AOR=2.72; 95% CI 1.45 to 5.11); rural residence (AOR=2.69; 95% CI 1.78 to 4.07); unable to read and write (AOR=1.60; 95% CI 1.02 to 2.51); information not heard from healthcare workers, mass media and social media (AOR=1.95; 95% CI 1.35 to 2.82), (AOR=2.5; 95% CI 1.58 to 4.19) and (AOR=2.13; 95% CI 1.33 to 3.42), respectively, with inadequate knowledge.ConclusionThese findings revealed that more than 50% of participants had inadequate knowledge about COVID-19. It highlights the need for widespread awareness campaigns about COVID-19 through mass media, healthcare professionals and social media as sources of information. House-to-house awareness creation is recommended to address older adults who are more vulnerable to the pandemic.

COVID-19 Vaccine hesitancy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A mixed-methods study

“…The discrepancies might be due to differences in the community awareness creation through mass media and social media. Further, in our study, more than half the participants had negative attitude towards COVID-19 and its preventive measures, which is higher than the finding of a study conducted in Southern Ethiopia [15, 18] and lower than study done among Dessie and Kombolcha town residents in Ethiopia [19]. The discrepancy in the findings may be due to differences in the study period.…”

Intention of health care workers to accept COVID-19 vaccination and related factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…This moderate level of acceptance may be attributable to several reasons, e.g. inadequate knowledge among HCWs regarding COVID-19 [37,38], negative attitude towards the disease [37,39], and feelings of fear and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic [40–43]. Also, concerns raised for COVID-19 vaccination are related with inadequate knowledge about such new vaccines regarding the long term side effects, effectiveness, efficacy etc.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Prevention Practices Toward Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Several studies have assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 in Ethiopia. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 However, the findings of these studies are highly variable and inconsistent. 2 , 3 To our knowledge, this systematic review and meta-analysis is the first to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and prevention practices regarding COVID-19 at a national level.…”

“… 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 However, the findings of these studies are highly variable and inconsistent. 2 , 3 To our knowledge, this systematic review and meta-analysis is the first to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and prevention practices regarding COVID-19 at a national level. This study aimed to assess the pooled status of these factors regarding COVID-19 in Ethiopia to provide evidence for policymakers and health professionals to improve knowledge, attitudes, prevention practices, and control strategies regarding COVID-19 and improve the study designs and participants in future studies.…”

“…While studies assessed COVID-19 knowledge, attitude, and practice in Ethiopia the findings were highly variable and inconsistent. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 Therefore, this study assessed the pooled status of knowledge, attitude, and prevention practices regarding COVID -19 in Ethiopia.…”