Assessment on awareness towards preventive measures of COVID-19 in Sheka, Ethiopia: Community based cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is the most important of public health problem worldwide. A critical element in tackling the COVID-19 crisis is personal behavioral change. However, there is a paucity of evidence about peoples’ awareness towards COVID-19 pandemic. This study is aimed to assess the people’s awareness status towards COVID-19 in Sheka, South, Nation, Nationalities, and Peoples of the Regional State (SNNPR), Southwestern Ethiopia.Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between 10th to 21th months of April 2020. A total of 419study participants were included during the study. Both univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify significant factors of awareness status. Variables with p-value<0.05 were considered significant influences of the awareness.Results: Of all respondents in the study, nearly half (49.4 %) of the participants had awareness aboutCOVID-19 pandemic. Sex, education level, religion, symptom, and knowing prevention methods were factors significantly associated with an awarenessof COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents who did know all prevention methods (AOR: 8.1, 95% CI: 1.3, 51.9) are more likely to aware of COVID-19 than their counterparts.Conclusion: The study showed that there is a low awareness status among people towards COVID-19.Hence, programs to improve awareness towards COVID-19 pandemic is essential to prevent and control the pandemic.