Status of compliance with guidelines for prevention of acute respiratory infections COVID-19 by outpatients and some related factors at University Medical Center HCMC, 2021

Background: Every year, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City receives an average of more than 2 million outpatient visits, patients come to hospitals from all over the country, which is one of the potential risks of infection in hospitals. In the face of a complicated epidemic situation, the behavior of people, especially those who come to the hospital for examination, is the decisive factor contributing to controlling and repelling the epidemic. Methodology: A cross-sectional study in 415 patients who were outpatient at University Medicine Center HCMC during the period from July 1, 2020, to July 4, 2021. This study used an 80% cut-off point to classify good and bad practices. Result: The percentage of subjects with good practice on general prevention was 30.4%, of which wearing masks accounted for the highest rate of 97.1%. The lowest is hand washing time (30.4%). Multivariate regression analysis showed that there was a statistically significant relationship between gender and preventive behavior, specifically: Males with preventive behavior reached 1.39 times higher than women with p< 0.05 in the 95% confidence interval (1.01 – 1.91). Conclusion: Outpatient practice on COVID-19 prevention behaviors in the hospital is limited. The hospital needs to strengthen communication and education on COVID-19 prevention for patients. Keywword: Guidance compliance, COVID-19, outpatient, University Medicine Center HCMC.