Knowledge of COVID-19 prevention in Eastern Ethiopia

Dheresa, Merga; Madewell, Zachary J.; Muir, Jonathan A.; Getachew, Tamirat; Daraje, Gamachis; Mengesha, Gezahegn; Whitney, Cynthia G.; Assefa, Nega; Cunningham, Solveig A.

doi:10.1101/2023.06.28.23291972

Cited by 4 publications

References 46 publications

(67 reference statements)

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Household Hardships and Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Shocks in Eastern Ethiopia

Muir

Deresa

Madewell

et al. 2023

Preprint

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COVID-19 is associated with one of the largest disturbances to life in the 21st century. To quell disease spread, governments implemented lockdowns that likely created hardships for house-holds. To improve knowledge of consequences, we examine how the pandemic period was associ-ated with household hardships and assess factors associated with these hardships. We conducted a cross-sectional study using quasi-Poisson regression to examine factors associated with house-hold hardships. Data were collected between August and September of 2021 from a random sam-ple of 880 households living in a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) located in the Harari Region and the District of Kersa, both in Ethiopia. Having a head of household with no education, residing in a rural area, larger household size, lower income and/or wealth, and community responses to COVID-19 including lockdowns and travel restrictions were inde-pendently associated with experiencing household hardships. Our results identify characteristics of groups at-risk for food insecurity during the pan-demic; households that were already strug-gling prior to the onset of the pandemic were at greatest risk of adverse consequences during the pandemic period. These findings may inform future efforts to mitigate the consequences of COVID-19 and future disease out-breaks.

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Household Hardships and Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Shocks in Eastern Ethiopia

Muir

Deresa

Madewell

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Knowledge of COVID-19 Symptoms, Transmission, and Prevention: Evidence from Health and Demographic Surveillance in Southern Mozambique

Nhacolo

Madewell

Muir

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background: Over 230,000 COVID-19 cases and over 2,200 deaths have been reported in Mozambique though March 2023. Understanding community members' knowledge and perception of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and prevention is essential for directing public health interventions to reduce disease spread and improve vaccination coverage. Here, we aimed to describe knowledge of COVID-19 transmission, prevention, and symptoms among community residents in Mozambique. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 33,087 of 40,636 households (81.4%) in a Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Manhica, Mozambique, at the tail end of the Delta variant wave in September 2021 to the peak of Omicron cases in January 2022. Principal components analysis was used to create scores representing knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms, transmission, and prevention. Multiple imputation and quasi-Poisson regression were used to examine associations between demographic characteristics and sources of COVID-19 information, and knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms, transmission, and prevention. We examined whether sources of COVID-19 information mediated the relationship between educational attainment and knowledge of symptoms, transmission, and prevention. Results: Across this rural community, 98.2%, 97.0%, and 85.1% of household respondents reported knowing how COVID-19 could be prevented, that SARS-CoV-2 can cause disease, and how SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted, respectively. Most recognized symptoms were cough (51.2%), headaches (44.9%), and fever (44.5%). Most cited transmission mechanisms were droplets (50.5%) or aerosol (<5 micrometer diameter) (46.9%) from an infected person. Most cited prevention measures were handwashing (91.9%) and mask-wearing (91.8%). Characteristics associated with greater knowledge of symptoms, transmission, and prevention included having at least primary education, older age, employment, higher wealth, and Christian religion. Respondents who had had COVID-19 symptoms were also more likely to have knowledge of symptoms, transmission, and prevention. Gathering information from TV, WhatsApp, radio, and hospital mediated the relationship between educational attainment and knowledge scores. Conclusions: Community public health measures to reduce infectious disease transmission are contingent upon perceptions of risk and knowledge. These findings support the need for outreach and for community-engaged messaging to promote prevention measures, particularly among people with low education.

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Household hardships and responses to COVID-19 pandemic-related shocks in Eastern Ethiopia

Muir,

Dheresa,

Madewell

et al. 2023

BMC Public Health

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Background COVID-19 resulted in enormous disruption to life around the world. To quell disease spread, governments implemented lockdowns that likely created hardships for households. To improve knowledge of consequences, we examine how the pandemic period was associated with household hardships and assess factors associated with these hardships. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using quasi-Poisson regression to examine factors associated with household hardships. Data were collected between August and September of 2021 from a random sample of 880 households living within a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) located in the Harari Region and the District of Kersa, both in Eastern Ethiopia. Results Having a head of household with no education, residing in a rural area, larger household size, lower income and/or wealth, and community responses to COVID-19, including lockdowns and travel restrictions, were independently associated with experiencing household hardships. Conclusions Our results identify characteristics of groups at-risk for household hardships during the pandemic; these findings may inform efforts to mitigate the consequences of COVID-19 and future disease outbreaks.

show abstract

Knowledge of COVID-19 prevention in Eastern Ethiopia

Cited by 4 publications

References 46 publications

Household Hardships and Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Shocks in Eastern Ethiopia

Household Hardships and Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Shocks in Eastern Ethiopia

Knowledge of COVID-19 Symptoms, Transmission, and Prevention: Evidence from Health and Demographic Surveillance in Southern Mozambique

Household hardships and responses to COVID-19 pandemic-related shocks in Eastern Ethiopia

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