Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and vulnerability to COVID-19: The case of adult patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus in Gamo, Gofa, and South Omo zones in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background A growing body of evidence demonstrating that individuals with Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) are more likely to have severe forms of COVID-19 and subsequent mortality. Hence, our study aimed to assess the knowledge of vulnerability and preventive practices towards COVID-19 among patients with hypertension or diabetes in Southern Ethiopia. Objective To assess the knowledge and preventive practices towards COVID-19 among patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus in three zones of Southern Ethiopia, 2020. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study design was used with a multi-stage random sampling technique to select 682 patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus from 10th -17th July 2020 at the three zones of Southern Ethiopia. Logistic regression analysis with a 95% confidence interval was fitted to identify independent predictors of knowledge and preventive practices towards COVID-19. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was used to determine the magnitude of the association between the outcome and independent variables. P-value <0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results The Multi-dimensional knowledge (MDK) analysis of COVID-19 revealed that 63% of study subjects had good knowledge about COVID-19. The overall preventive practice towards COVID -19 was 26.4%. Monthly income (AOR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.94) significantly predicted knowledge towards COVID-19. Ninety-five percent of the study subjects knew that the COVID-19 virus spreads via respiratory droplets of infected individuals. One hundred and ten (16.2%) of study subjects correctly responded to the questions that state whether people with the COVID-19 virus who do not have a fever can infect the other. Knowledge about COVID-19 (AOR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.1) became the independent predictor of preventive practice. Conclusions In this study, the knowledge of the respondents towards the COVID-19 pandemic was good. But the preventive practice was very low. There was a significant gap between knowledge and preventive practices towards the COVID-19 pandemic among the study subjects. Monthly income was significantly associated with knowledge of COVID-19. Knowledge of COVID-19 was found to be an independent predictor of preventive practice towards COVID-19. Community mobilization and improving COVID-19- related knowledge and practice are urgently recommended for those patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus.

Knowledge of non-communicable diseases and access to healthcare services among adults before and during COVID-19 pandemic in rural Tanzania

“…Further, our study demonstrates that education level significantly determined the knowledge of the participants on NCDs. The findings are similar to several studies which reported that the level of education of participants determines their level of knowledge in different aspects ( 37 , 38 ). Furthermore, those living in nomadic areas were significantly found to have inadequate knowledge.…”

COVID 19 prevention practice of patients with known chronic illness in Ethiopia: A systemic review and meta-analysis

“…So far, in Ethiopia, different studies have been done on the practice of COVID 19 preventive measures among chronic disease patients and found a highly variable level of practice across the regions of the country. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Up to the level of our knowledge, there is no systematic review and meta-analysis done in Ethiopia which can settle controversies arising from apparently conflicting individual studies on the prevention practice of chronic disease patients in Ethiopia; despite they are the main focus of intervention which increase the need to summarize the issue and intervene accordingly. Thus, this systematic review and metaanalysis aimed to assess the pooled prevalence of COVID 19 prevention practice and identify its associated factors among chronic disease patients in Ethiopia.…”

Compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures among chronic disease patients in Wolaita and Dawuro zones, Southern Ethiopia: A proportional odds model

“…In Ethiopia, several studies were conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 preventive measures among individuals with chronic medical conditions. In the meantime, being male, being unmarried, no formal education, rural residence, income of less than 221 US Dollar, household family size greater than or equal to 4, poor knowledge of COVID-19, and poor attitude towards COVID-19 were the factors found significantly associated with lower COVID-19 prevention practice [ 12 , 13 , 30 – 32 ].…”