Compliance with wearing facemasks by university teaching staff during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Objective We aimed to explore compliance with and barriers to wearing facemasks at the workplace among university teaching staff in Egypt. Methods An online survey was shared with teaching staff members at 11 public and 12 private Egyptian universities and high institutes, and 218 responses were received. All participants were asked about beliefs related to wearing facemasks. For participants who taught in-person classes, compliance with and barriers to wearing facemasks at the workplace were assessed. Compliance level was classified into: Non-compliance, inadequate and adequate, based on the degree of adherence to having facemasks on and not taking them off at five main work settings. We compared demographic characteristics, beliefs, and barriers scores across compliance levels. Results Most participants (81.7%) believed that facemasks reduce infection risk to others and 74.3% believed facemasks can reduce risk to the wearer. Around 80% of the respondents who taught in-person classes wore facemasks, but only 37.8% met the criteria of adequate compliance. Difficulty breathing and impaired communication were cited as major barriers by 42.2% and 30.3% of in-person class tutors respectively. The risk of reporting COVID-19 like symptoms among non-compliant participants was double the risk among those with adequate compliance (45.9% vs 25.7% respectively). Adequate compliance was significantly associated with higher positive beliefs scores and lower barriers scores. Conclusion Adequate compliance with wearing facemasks at the workplace was low. Addressing negative beliefs may improve compliance. Difficulty breathing, and impaired communication were important barriers, therefore we recommend replacing in-person interactions with online classes whenever applicable.

Perceived Corona virus exposure as a function of interpersonal distance and time of a conversation

“…Do people assert linear relationships between exposure and infection risk? What protective role do they give a face mask [ 5 , 24 , 25 ]? Do people assume infection threshold effects?…”

Tingkat Kepatuhan Masyarakat Dalam Menggunakan Masker Setelah Vaksinasi Covid-19 Di Kecamatan “X” Kota Makassar

“…Masker bedah dapat memberikan proteksi hingga 70% jika digunakan secara tepat. Bahkan masker kain dilaporkan lima kali lebih efektif daripada tidak memakai apa pun (Yosef et al, 2022).…”

“…Terlepas dari manfaatnya yang nyata, memakai masker wajah untuk jangka waktu yang lama dapat menimbulkan beberapa tantangan seperti: ketidaknyamanan fisik, keluhan panas, kacamata berkabut, sakit kepala, dermatitis perioral dan ruam gatal yang disebabkan oleh masker atau talinya dan kesulitan bernapas; terutama dengan respirator N95. Ketidaknyamanan sosial juga diungkapkan, termasuk masalah estetika tentang tidak terlihat bagus dalam memakai masker, mengganggu dalam pengenalan wajah dan komunikasi (Yosef, 2022).…”

“…Hal ini sejalan dengan penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Yosef (2022) bahwa terdapat beberapa responden yang tidak menggunakan masker dengan alasan ketidaknyamanan fisik, keluhan panas, kacamata berkabut, sakit kepala, dermatitis perioral dan ruam gatal yang disebabkan oleh masker atau talinya dan kesulitan bernapas; terutama dengan masker N95. Ketidaknyamanan sosial juga diungkapkan, termasuk masalah estetika tentang tidak terlihat bagus dalam memakai masker, mengganggu dalam pengenalan wajah dan komunikasi (Yosef, 2022). Beberapa responden juga dilaporkan tidak menggunakan masker dengan alasan tidak mempercayai adanya covid-19 sehingga mengabaikan aturan yang mengharuskan mereka menggunakan masker.…”