Practice of COVID-19 Preventive Measures and Its Associated Factors among Students in Ghana

Abstract

. Preventive measures are key to reducing COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Our primary aim was to assess factors associated with practice of COVID-19 preventive measures among senior high school students in the Bawku Municipality, Ghana. A cross-sectional study was conducted, and data on 624 students were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. An estimated 31.5% (95% CI: 27.8, 35.1) of the students wore a face mask often or always. Students who reported that COVID-19 can be transmitted via droplets from the nose or mouth (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 3.0; 95% CI: 1.1, 7.9) and students who reported that asymptomatic persons can transmit the virus (aOR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.2, 3.6) had higher odds of wearing a face mask. However, students who reported that COVID-19 was not deadly were associated with lower odds of wearing a face mask (aOR: 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4, 1.0). Handwashing/hand sanitizing was practiced by 49.5% (95% CI: 45.6, 53.5) of students. Students in the technical program compared to the science program (aOR: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.8) and those who reported that COVID-19 was not deadly (aOR: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4, 1.0) had lower odds of handwashing/hand sanitizing. An estimated 46.2% (95% CI: 42.3, 50.2) of students practiced social distancing. Students who reported that COVID-19 can be transmitted via droplets from the nose or mouth were positively associated with social distancing (aOR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.0, 4.5). There is the need to intensify education about COVID-19 in senior high schools while enforcing the practice of COVID-19 preventive measures.

COVID-19 Prevention Practices and Associated Factors among Diabetes and HIV/AIDS Clients in South-Wollo Zone, Ethiopia: A Health Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study

“…But the finding among students in Ghana revealed that there is no difference between those who have and do not have health insurance. 19 Our result also revealed that those who have a family size of ≥4 were 2.06 more likely to have good preventive practice towards COVID-19 infection than those who had a family size of less than four which was supported by finding in Southwest Ethiopia. 20 However as a limitation, in this study we estimated only socio-demographic factors and we might miss controlling other variables which may affect the result.…”

“…But the finding among students in Ghana revealed that there is no difference between those who have and do not have health insurance. 19 Our result also revealed that those who have a family size of ≥4 were 2.06 more likely to have good preventive practice towards COVID-19 infection than those who had…”

Adherence to COVID‐19 preventive measures and associated factors among pregnant women in Ghana

“…We assessed three primary outcomes of interest: wearing a face mask; handwashing with soap and water or hand sanitising with alcohol-based hand sanitiser; and social distancing. We assigned a value of '1' for women who wore a face mask always or often, and '0' for women who reported not wearing the face mask or who wore the face mask sometimes [28]. Handwashing or hand sanitising was also dichotomised as '1' for women who always or often washed their hands with soap and water or sanitised their hands with alcohol-based hand sanitiser and '0' for women who reported not practicing handwashing/hand sanitising or sometimes handwashed/hand sanitised [28].…”

“…We assigned a value of '1' for women who wore a face mask always or often, and '0' for women who reported not wearing the face mask or who wore the face mask sometimes [28]. Handwashing or hand sanitising was also dichotomised as '1' for women who always or often washed their hands with soap and water or sanitised their hands with alcohol-based hand sanitiser and '0' for women who reported not practicing handwashing/hand sanitising or sometimes handwashed/hand sanitised [28]. We defined social distancing by assigning a value of '1' for a woman who always or often maintained a distance of at least one metre between her and others, '0' for a woman who did not practice social distancing or practiced it sometimes [29].…”

Factors associated with preventive practices of COVID-19 among health care workers in Dilla University Hospital, Southern Ethiopia

“…Physical or social separation, quarantining, ventilation of indoor spaces, covering coughs and sneezes, hand washing, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face are all examples. In public places, the use of face masks or coverings has been recommended to reduce the risk of transmission ( Apanga et al, 2021 ).…”