Factors associated with adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): results of an online survey

Ditekemena, John; Nkamba, Dalau Mukadi; Muhindo, Hypolite Mavoko; Siewe, Joseph Nelson Fodjo; Luhata, Christophe; Bergh, Rafaël Van den; Kitoto, Antoinette Tshefu; Damme, Wim Van; Muyembe, Jean Jacques; Colebunders, Robert

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043356

Cited by 76 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The country is composed of 26 provinces and shared borders with 9 countries. In terms of the operational health system structure, the DRC has 516 health zones [15].…”

Section: Study Setting and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The country is ranked second in Africa in terms of tuberculosis burden, is endemic for malaria, and has a 1.2% HIV prevalence. Damage to and depletion of the DRC's rainforests exacerbated by war-related displacement of the population to forests, poaching, illegal lumber trade, and artisanal mining continue to precipitate episodic contact of people with the animal reservoirs of other viruses, including Ebola and Monkeypox [14][15][16]. The eastern part of the DRC has experienced a long-running Ebola virus epidemic since August 2018.…”

Section: Study Setting and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The questionnaire proposed by the ICPCovid consortium was translated from English to French, adapted, pre-tested, and used during the 1st round of the online survey in the DRC. [15] The survey instrument included questions on demographic characteristics, including age, sex, educational level, and occupation. In addition, the questions about the presence or absence of flu-like symptoms during the preceding 14 days, the specific symptom(s) they experienced, whether they had been tested for COVID-19, were also asked.…”

Section: Study Instrument and Participants' Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Upon clicking on the link, the potential participant was informed about the study objectives, data confidentiality, and consent form. We used 1 to 4 study assistants in each province to increase participation to assist potential study candidates who had no access to the internet or had difficulties in filling out the form [15]. Study assistants were asked to motivate potential participants in their network to participate in the survey.…”

Section: Study Instrument and Participants' Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Investigating how well the general population in the DRC observed the COVID-19 preventive measures might provide some reasons behind this unexpectedly low reported COVID-19 burden. A first online survey to assess adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the local government was conducted in the DRC from 23 April and 8 June 2020 during the lockdown period [15]. A second survey was conducted from 24 August to 8 September 2020 just after the lockdown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Results of Two Consecutive Online Surveys

Ditekemena

Mavoko

Obimpeh

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Adherence to preventive measures is essential to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Two online surveys were conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 23 April to 8 June 2020, and from August 24th to September 8th, respectively. A total of 3268 (round 1) and 4160 (round 2) participants were included. In both surveys, there was a moderate level of adherence to regular handwashing (85% and 77%, respectively), wearing of facemasks (41.4% and 69%, respectively), and respecting physical distancing (58% and 43.4%, respectively). The second survey found that, working in private (OR = 2.31, CI: 1.66–3.22; p < 0.001) and public organizations (OR = 1.61, CI: 1.04–2.49; p = 0.032) and being a healthcare worker (OR = 2.19, CI: 1.57–3.05; p < 0.001) significantly increased the odds for better adherence. However, a unit increase in age (OR = 0.99, CI: 0.98–0.99; p < 0.026), having attained lower education levels (OR = 0.60, CI: 0.46–0.78; p < 0.001), living in a room (OR = 0.36, CI: 0.15–0.89; p = 0.027), living in a studio (OR = 0.26, CI: 0.11–0.61; p = 0.002) and apartment (OR = 0.29, CI: 0.10–0.82; p = 0.019) significantly decreased the odds for better adherence. We recommend a multi-sectorial approach to monitor and respond to the pandemic threat. While physical distancing may be difficult in Africa, it should be possible to increase the use of facemasks.

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“…The country is composed of 26 provinces and shared borders with 9 countries. In terms of the operational health system structure, the DRC has 516 health zones [15].…”

Section: Study Setting and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Setting and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Instrument and Participants' Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Instrument and Participants' Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Results of Two Consecutive Online Surveys

Ditekemena

Mavoko

Obimpeh

et al. 2021

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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High pre‐Delta and early‐Omicron SARS‐CoV‐2 seroprevalence detected in dried blood samples from Kinshasa (D.R. Congo)

de Aguirre,

Carlos,

Pina‐Sánchez

et al. 2024

Journal of Medical Virology

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Studies on the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic in sub‐Saharan Africa have yielded varying results, although authors universally agree the real burden surpasses reported cases. The primary objective of this study was to determine SARS‐CoV‐2 seroprevalence among patients attending Monkole Hospital in Kinshasa (D.R. Congo). The secondary objective was to evaluate the analytic performance of two chemiluminescence platforms: Elecsys® (Roche) and VirClia® (Vircell) on dried blood spot samples (DBS). The study population (N = 373) was recruited in two stages: a mid‐2021 blood donor cohort (15.5% women) and a mid‐2022 women cohort. Crude global seroprevalence was 61% (53.9%–67.8%) pre‐Delta in 2021 and 90.2% (84.7%–94.2%) post‐Omicron in 2022. Anti‐spike (S) antibody levels significantly increased from 53.1 (31.8–131.3) U/mL in 2021 to 436.5 (219.3–950.5) U/mL in 2022 and were significantly higher above 45 years old in the 2022 population. Both platforms showed good analytic performance on DBS samples: sensitivity was 96.8% for IgG (antiN/S) (93.9%–98.5%) and 96.0% (93.0%–98.0%) for anti‐S quantification. These results provide additional support for the notion that exposure to SARS‐CoV‐2 is more widespread than indicated by case‐based surveillance and will be able to guide the pandemic response and strategy moving forward. Likewise, this study contributes evidence to the reliability of DBS as a tool for serological testing and diagnosis in resource‐limited settings.

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Epidemiological Comparison of Four COVID-19 Waves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, March 2020–January 2022

Otshudiema¹,

Folefack²,

Nsio

et al. 2022

J Epidemiol Glob Health

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Purpose Nationwide analyses are required to optimise and tailor activities to control future COVID-19 waves of resurgence continent-wide. We compared epidemiological and clinical outcomes of the four COVID-19 waves in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Methods This retrospective descriptive epidemiological analysis included data from the national line list of confirmed COVID-19 cases in all provinces for all waves between 9 March 2020 and 2 January 2022. Descriptive statistical measures (frequencies, percentages, case fatality rates [CFR], test positivity rates [TPR], and characteristics) were compared using chi-squared or the Fisher–Irwin test. Results During the study period, 72,108/445,084 (16.2%) tests were positive, with 9,641/56,637 (17.0%), 16,643/66,560 (25.0%), 24,172/157,945 (15.3%), and 21,652/163,942 (13.2%) cases during the first, second, third, and fourth waves, respectively. TPR significantly decreased from 17.0% in the first wave to 13.2% in the fourth wave as did infection of frontline health workers (5.2% vs. 0.9%). CFR decreased from 5.1 to 0.9% from the first to fourth wave. No sex- or age-related differences in distributions across different waves were observed. The majority of cases were asymptomatic in the first (73.1%) and second (86.6%) waves, in contrast to that in the third (11.1%) and fourth (31.3%) waves. Conclusion Despite fewer reported cases, the primary waves (first and second) of the COVID-19 pandemic in the DRC were more severe than the third and fourth waves, with each wave being associated with a new SARS-CoV-2 variant. Tailored public health and social measures, and resurgence monitoring are needed to control future waves of COVID-19.

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Factors associated with adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): results of an online survey

Cited by 76 publications

References 32 publications

Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Results of Two Consecutive Online Surveys

Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Results of Two Consecutive Online Surveys

High pre‐Delta and early‐Omicron SARS‐CoV‐2 seroprevalence detected in dried blood samples from Kinshasa (D.R. Congo)

Epidemiological Comparison of Four COVID-19 Waves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, March 2020–January 2022

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