scholarly journals Psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: an online cross-sectional study to identify the need for equal attention of intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Argaw Ambelu ◽  
Zewdie Birhanu ◽  
Yimenu Yitayih ◽  
Yohannes Kebede ◽  
Mohammed Mecha ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic led individuals to suffer from different levels of mental health problems such as psychological distress, anxiety, depression, denial, panic, and fear. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of psychological distress and associated factors among the Ethiopian population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed through an online survey using different online platforms. The questionnaire was created through Google Form and the survey link was administered by e-mail, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Facebook. Educated Ethiopian population who have access to the internet were invited to participate through an online survey and addressed to 929 respondents. The study participants completed the survey anonymously without any personal identifier. The psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 10-item tool to measure psychological distress. Data were analyzed using SPSS and logistic regression to examine mutually adjusted associations, expressed as adjusted odds ratios. A generalized additive model was also employed to identify additional predictors using R. Results The prevalence of high psychological distress among the study population was 236 (25.5%). Of all respondents, 421 (45.1%) had low psychological distress, 274 (29.4%) had moderate psychological distress, 164 (17.6%) had high psychological distress, and 72 (7.3%) had very high psychological distress. Psychological distress increased with being at young and middle-aged adults, getting information from social media, and not correctly practicing infection prevention and control measures to prevent COVID-19 infection. Respondents with high perceived severity had increased psychological distress. On the contrary, those with the highest score of perceived response efficacy had low distress. Conclusion Prevalence of psychological distress was substantial. The need for intervention of psychological distress inline with the prevention of COVID-19 is critically essential. The intervention target groups are those whose information sources are from social media, young and middle-aged adults, and those who do not correctly practice infection prevention and control measures against COVID-19 infection.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Argaw Ambelu ◽  
Zewdie Birhanu ◽  
Yimenu Yitayih ◽  
Yohannes Kebede ◽  
Mohammed Mecha ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led individuals to suffer from different levels of mental health problems such as psychological distress, anxiety, depression, denial, panic, and fear. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of psychological distress and associated factors among the Ethiopian population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods:A cross-sectional study was performed through an online survey using different online platforms. The questionnaire was created through Google Form and the survey link was administered by e-mail,LinkedIn,Telegram, and Facebook. Educated Ethiopian population who have access to the internet were invited to participate through an online survey and addressed to 929respondents. The psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 10 item tool to measure psychological distress. Data were analyzed using SPSS andlogistic regression to examine mutually adjusted associations, expressed as adjusted odds ratios.A generalized additive model was also employed to identify additional predictors using R.Results:The prevalence of high psychological distress among the study population was 236(25.5%). Of all respondents, 421(45.1%) had low psychological distress, 274(29.4%) had moderate psychological distress, 164 (17.6%) had high psychological distress, and 72 (7.3%) had very high psychological distress.Psychological distress increased with being at young and middle-aged adults, getting information from social media, and not correctlypracticing infection prevention and control measures to prevent COVID-19 infection. Respondents with high perceived severity had increased psychological distress. On the contrary, those with the highest score of perceived response efficacy had low distress.Conclusion:Prevalence of psychological distress was substantial. Intervention of psychological distress is critically essential. The intervention target groupsare those whose information sourcesare from social media, young and middle-aged adults, and those who do not properly practice infection prevention and control measures to COVID-19 infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai Aldhahri ◽  
Rana Alghamdi

Background: Infection prevention and control measures are critical for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19.Aim: In this study, we aimed to measure and evaluate the level of awareness and knowledge of the prevention, symptoms, and transmission control of COVID-19 before and after quarantine among the residents of Rabigh city and adjacent villages in Saudi Arabia.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in two stages: the first stage took place before quarantine and the second stage took place after quarantine. The survey was filled out electronically.Results: A total of 448 participants responded and filled out the questionnaires. Females (73.70%) formed the largest number of participants for both stages. The majority of the participants were <30 years old (50.90%) and had a high education level in various sectors and levels (97.1%). It was noticeable that during the first stage, the participants' awareness of COVID-19 symptoms was not very high: 13.62% did not know about the symptoms. However, by the second stage, awareness about symptoms had increased (9.6%).Conclusion: The residents of Rabigh city and the surrounding villages had good levels of knowledge about COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Ward ◽  
Abimbola Phillips ◽  
Olusola Oresanya ◽  
Gloria Olisenekwu ◽  
Ekundayo Arogunade ◽  
...  

Abstract IntroductionSeasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is a WHO-recommended intervention for children aged 3-59 months living in areas of high malaria transmission to provide protection against malaria during the rainy season. Operational guidelines were developed, based on WHO guidance, to support countries to mitigate the risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission within communities and among community distributors when delivering SMC.MethodsA cross-sectional study to determine adherence to infection prevention and control measures during two distribution cycles of SMC in Nigeria, Chad and Burkina Faso. Community distributors were observed receiving equipment and delivering SMC. Adherence across six domains was calculated as the proportion of indications in which the community distributor performed the correct action. Focus group discussions were conducted with community distributors to understand their perceptions of the infection prevention and control measures and barriers and facilitators to adherence.ResultsWe observed community distributors in Nigeria (n=259), Burkina Faso (n=252) and Chad (n=266) receiving infection prevention and control equipment and delivering SMC. Adherence to infection prevention and control indications varied. In all three countries, adherence to mask use was the highest (ranging from 73.3% in Nigeria to 86.9% in Burkina Faso). Adherence to hand hygiene for at least 30 seconds was low (ranging from 3.6% in Nigeria to 10.3% in Burkina Faso) but increased substantially when excluding the length of time spent hand washing (ranging from 36.7% in Nigeria to 61.4% in Burkina Faso). Adherence to safe distancing in the compound ranged from 5.4% in Chad to 16.4% in Nigeria. In Burkina Faso and Chad, where disinfection wipes widely available compliance with disinfection of blister packs for SMC was low (17.4% in Burkina Faso and 16.9% in Chad). Community distributors generally found the infection prevention and control measures acceptable, however there were barriers to optimal hand hygiene practices, cultural norms made social distancing difficult to adhere to and caregivers needed assistance to administer the first dose of SMC.ConclusionAdherence to infection prevention and control measures for SMC delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic varied across domains of infection prevention and control, but was largely insufficient, particularly for hand hygiene and safe distancing. Improvements in provision of equipment, early awareness raising and adaptations to make infection prevention and control measures more feasible to implement could increase adherence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicos Middleton ◽  
Constantinos Tsioutis ◽  
Ourania Kolokotroni ◽  
Alexandros Heraclides ◽  
Panagiotis Theodosis-Nobelos ◽  
...  

University students represent a highly active group in terms of their social activity in the community and in the propagation of information on social media. We aimed to map the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of University students in Cyprus about severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to guide targeted future measures and information campaigns. We used a cross-sectional online survey targeting all students in conventional, not distance-learning, programs in five major universities in the Republic of Cyprus. Students were invited to participate through the respective Studies and Student Welfare Office of each institution. The survey was made available in English and Greek on REDCap. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. The questionnaire was developed based on a consensus to cover the main factual information directed by official channels toward the general public in Cyprus at the time of the survey. In addition to sociodemographic information (N = 8), the self-administered questionnaire consisted of 19 questions, assessing the knowledge regarding the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, infection prevention and control measures (N = 10), perceptions related to COVID-19, for instance, whether strict travel measures are necessary (N = 4), and attitudes toward a hypothetical person infected (N = 2). Furthermore, participants were asked to provide their own assessment of their knowledge about COVID-19 and specifically with regard to the main symptoms and ways of transmission (N = 3). The number of students who completed the survey was 3,641 (41% studying Health/Life Sciences). Amongst them, 68.8% responded correctly to at least 60% of knowledge-related questions. Misconceptions were identified in 30%. Only 29.1% expressed a positive attitude toward a hypothetical person with COVID-19 without projecting judgment (9.2%) or blame (38%). Odds of expressing a positive attitude increased by 18% (95% CI 13–24%; p < 0.001) per unit increase in knowledge. Postgraduate level education was predictive of better knowledge (odds ratio (OR) 1.81; 95% CI 1.34–2.46; p < 0.001 among doctoral students] and positive attitude [OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.01–1.80; p = 0.04). In this study, we show that specific knowledge gaps and misconceptions exist among University students about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 and their prevalence is associated with negative attitudes toward people with COVID-19. Our findings highlight the integrated nature of knowledge and attitude and suggest that improvements to the former could contribute to improvements in the latter.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (08) ◽  
pp. 1710-1716
Author(s):  
Naveed Ahmed ◽  
Azka Rizvi ◽  
Ayesha Naeem ◽  
Waqas Saleem ◽  
Altaf Ahmed ◽  
...  

Objectives: To determine and assess the level of awareness and knowledge regarding COVID-19 the among residents of Lahore. Study Design: Descriptive Cross Sectional study. Setting: Different Institutions in Lahore. Period: March 2020. Material & Methods: The present study was organized by the Department of Microbiology, Pakistan kidney and liver institute & research center. Respondents filled a pre-tested structured questionnaire consisting of 21 multiple-choice questions. The variables were accessed their knowledge of disease regarding etiology, mode of transmission, prevention and control measures of COVID-19 infection. A total of 1875 questionnaires were collected. Results: The data showed that 49.6% of respondents were male and rest 50.4% were females. From the total data 6.56% of respondents were doctors by profession. While 14.4% were nurses, 6.08% laboratory & other medical staff and 72.96% were students. 74.68% of respondents give correct answers on their knowledge about COVID-19, while 13.92% of respondents were wrong. 65.6% were aware about cause of COVID-19. However, 34.4% of participants were not aware of its cause. 60.0% of our respondents were not aware about symptoms and treatment. 89.04% of participants have no knowledge about transmission. 26.96% of respondents even didn’t know how to prevent this pandemic disease. Conclusion: Awareness campaigns should be conducted to make people aware of the ways COVID-19 spreads, its mode of transmission, severity of infection and preventive measures to minimize its spread as well as chances to acquire COVID-19 infections. It is important to understand the need to educate people, especially from lower socio-economic statuses as they might not know about these infections and how its spreads.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 4817
Author(s):  
Higina Kelly Lemos Nogueira ◽  
Ângela Cristina Fagundes Góes ◽  
Daniela Fagundes de Oliveira ◽  
Naiane Andrade de Simõs ◽  
Marianna Saba Fernandes ◽  
...  

RESUMOObjetivo: verificar o conhecimento do bundle de infecção do trato urinário associado ao uso de sondas por profissionais de unidade de terapia intensiva. Método: estudo quantitativo, tipo transversal, com 82 profissionais de um hospital público. Realizou-se análise descritiva, utilizando frequências absolutas e relativas, apresentadas em tabela. Resultado: evidenciou nível satisfatório de conhecimento quanto aos cuidados na inserção do cateter e à necessidade de revisão diária do uso deste dispositivo, entretanto, quanto às práticas que compõem o bundle, no quesito de indicações ao uso da SVF e cuidados na sua manutenção, encontrou-se fragilidade de conhecimento. Conclusão: medidas de prevenção e controle de infecções causadas pelo uso de SVF devem ser adotadas pelos profissionais envolvidos no cuidado, baseado nos conhecimentos teóricos e técnicos e na experiência prática, a fim de qualificar a assistência e minimizar o risco de iatrogenias. Descritores: Segurança do paciente; Unidade de Terapia Intensiva; Conhecimento; Infecção.ABSTRACTObjective: to verify the knowledge of the bundle of urinary tract infection associated with the use of probes by intensive care unit professionals. Method: quantitative cross-sectional study with 82 professionals from a public hospital. A descriptive analysis was performed, using absolute and relative frequencies, presented in the table. Results: it showed a satisfactory level of knowledge regarding catheter insertion care and the need for a daily review of the use of this device. However, regarding the practices that make up the bundle, in terms of indications for FVP use and care in its maintenance, fragility of knowledge. Conclusion: prevention and control measures of infections caused by the use of FVP should be adopted by professionals involved in care, based on theoretical and technical knowledge and practical experience, in order to qualify care and minimize the risk of iatrogenies. Descriptors: Patient Safety; Intensive Care Units; Knowledge; Infection.RESUMENObjetivo: verificar el conocimiento del bundle de infección del tracto urinario asociado al uso de sondas por profesionales de unidad de terapia intensiva. Método: estudio cuantitativo, tipo transversal, con 82 profesionales de un hospital público. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo, utilizando frecuencias absolutas y relativas, presentadas en tabla. Resultados: evidenció un nivel satisfactorio de conocimiento en cuanto a los cuidados en la inserción del catéter y la necesidad de revisión diaria del uso de este dispositivo, sin embargo, en cuanto a las prácticas que componen el bundle, en lo que se refiere a indicaciones al uso de la SVF y cuidados en su mantenimiento, se encontró  fragilidad de conocimiento. Conclusión: medidas de prevención y control de infecciones causadas por el uso de SVF deben ser adoptadas por los profesionales involucrados en el cuidado, basado en el conocimientos teóricos y técnicos y en la experiencia práctica, a fin de calificar la asistencia y minimizar el riesgo de iatrogenias. Descriptores: Seguridad del Paciente; Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos; Conocimiento; Infección.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Amadou Barrow ◽  
Mansour Badjie ◽  
Jainaba Touray ◽  
Bakary Kinteh ◽  
Musa Nget ◽  
...  

Background. Socioeconomically disadvantaged and neglected communities were found to be the most affected groups for schistosomiasis as a result of inadequate safe water and sanitation facilities. In order to inform policies and practices, the present study examined the influence of sociodemographic factors and attitudes on the knowledge and practice in the prevention and control of schistosomiasis in eighteen endemic rural communities in the Gambia. Methods. In January 2019, a community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in which 383 household heads in rural communities across Kuntaur and Janjanbureh Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Central River Region were recruited. A structured interview questionnaire was developed to elicit information regarding residents’ knowledge, attitude, and practice on schistosomiasis prevention and control measures. Percentages, chi-square test, and binary and multiple logistic regression models were used to identify sociodemographic factors associated with the KAP variables. The significance level was set at p<0.05. Results. Among the 383 participants, only 14.9% had good knowledge, while 54.3% had poor knowledge, 96.9% had positive attitude, and 57.7% had good practice towards prevention and control of schistosomiasis. Older age (≥40 years), compared with residents aged 30–39 years (AOR = 0.331; 95% CI: 0.133, 0.825); ever heard of bilharziasis (AOR = 11.911; 95% CI: 3.452, 41.099); and risks of contact with the polluted river (AOR = 0.101; 95% CI: 0.042, 0.242) were more likely to have good knowledge on schistosomiasis prevention and control in the rural Gambia. Conversely, young people (≤30 years), compared with residents aged ≥40 years (AOR = 2.503; 95% CI = 1.539, 4.071); residents aged 30–39 years (AOR = 2.880; 95% CI = 1.559, 5.320); and male residents (AOR = 2.631; 95% CI = 1.703, 4.067) were more likely to have good practice towards schistosomiasis prevention and control in the rural Gambia. Conclusion. Despite the low knowledge, rural dwellers’ attitudes were found to be positive with slightly good practice towards schistosomiasis prevention and control measures. Thus, while maintaining health system improvement strategies, disease control efforts should focus on these factors as they may influence the knowledge and practices of rural dwellers in a given setting. The findings could prompt appropriate policy responses towards improving the knowledge and practices on schistosomiasis prevention and control in the Gambia.


F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Sharon Bright Amanya ◽  
Richard Nyeko ◽  
Bonniface Obura ◽  
Joy Acen ◽  
Caroline Nabasirye ◽  
...  

Background: Infection prevention and control (IPC) has increasingly been underscored as a key tool for limiting the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and safeguarding health workers from infections during their work. Knowledge and compliance with IPC measures is therefore essential in protecting health workers. However, this has not been established among health workers in northern Uganda in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and compliance with Covid-19 infection prevention and control measures among health workers in regional referral hospitals in northern Uganda.  Methods: An online cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 75 health workers in regional referral hospitals within northern Uganda. A structured questionnaire was distributed to health workers via WhatsApp messenger. Sufficient knowledge was considered at a correct response score of ≥80%, while adequate compliance was rated ≥75% of the maximum score. Data were analyzed using SPSS v21.   Results: The majority of the health workers had sufficient knowledge (69%) and adequate compliance (68%) with Covid-19 IPC. Adequate compliance was significantly associated with training in Covid-19 IPC (p=0.039), access to Covid-19 IPC at workstations (p=0.036), and having strong institutional support (p=0.031). However, there was no significant relationship between knowledge and compliance with IPC (p=0.07). The socio-demographic characteristics of health workers, including age, sex, education level, occupation, working hours and work experience, had no statistically significant relationship with Covid-19 IPC knowledge or compliance.  Conclusion: Our results show fairly good knowledge and compliance with Covid-19 IPC among health workers in northern Uganda. There is need for more training and provision of guidelines to promote compliance with Covid-19 IPC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (09) ◽  
pp. 1281-1285
Author(s):  
Cucu Herawati ◽  
Awis Hamid Dani ◽  
Herlinawati ◽  
Syaeful Bakhri ◽  
Lilis Banowati ◽  
...  

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic influences the spirituality and mental health of individuals. It also has caused a global economic recession. COVID-19 is easily transmitted and causes death. Consequently, severe prevention and control measures of COVID 19 are required in this situation. This study aims to analyze the relationship between anxiety, stigma, religiosity, economic conditions, and the prevention of COVID-19. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was designed. The data collection was taken through online surveys. The population in this study is ninety-two lecturers from the College of Health Sciences and the State Islamic Institute who were chosen using a non-probability snowball sampling technique. Data analysis used logistic regression analysis. Results: The results showed that there was a relationship between anxiety (p = 0.001), stigma (p = 0.008), religiosity (p = 0.005) and the efforts to prevent COVID-19, while economic conditions (p = 0.882) were not related to the preventive efforts. The results of multivariate analysis indicated that the most influential variable affecting COVID-19 preventions was the level of anxiety, with an Odds Ratio of 4.9. Conclusions: There was a relationship between anxiety, stigma, religiosity, and COVID-19 preventions, while there was no relationship between economic conditions and COVID-19 preventions. The most influencing variable was anxiety. Respondents must be able to manage anxiety levels related to COVID-19 with good coping strategies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharef Al-Mulaabed ◽  
Zakria A Kassim ◽  
Saif W Younis ◽  
Ali A Abutiheen

Background: COVID-19 is a global pandemic that was first reported in Iraq on 24th February 2020, while it appeared in Nineveh on March 22nd, 2020. Infection prevention and control (IPC) is so important to minimize the risk of spreading infections.   Objectives: To assess the adherence to IPC measures among medical staff working in Nineveh governorate during COVID-19 pandemic.   Methods: A cross sectional study, using an online survey sent to different medical staff in Nineveh. The questionnaire was composed of two parts, the first included demographic information, and the second covered IPC measures. Survey was completed by medical staff witnessed COVID-19 pandemic in Nineveh governorate.   Results: The total sample was 412, of whom, 316 (77%) were males and 142 (35%) were physicians. Overall, the percentage of staff following different IPC measures was ranging from 31 % in wearing head cover, to 97% in keeping clean hands constantly. Main missed points were found in respiratory hygiene, physical distancing and self-isolation. Females were more likely to apply bandages to wounds and wearing gloves before examining patients. Compared to other medical staff, physicians were less compliant to washing hands, putting waste in designated places and wearing protective cloths. Those who work in hospitals were better compliant with sterilizing hands before entering home.   Conclusion: The adherence to IPC measures was ranging from less than one-half in wearing sterile head cover, to nearly all respondents in keeping clean hands. There is a great need to provide support as well as training in regards to IPC in Nineveh governorate city.


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