Level of Perceived Attitude and Practice and Associated Factors Towards the Prevention of the COVID-19 Epidemic Among Residents of Dessie and Kombolcha Town Administrations: A Population-Based Survey.

Purpose: COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The unprecedented global health crisis we are facing is affecting all parts of society and changing lives and livelihoods. International efforts have been applied to prevent the spread of the virus through personal hygiene, masks and social distancing as prevention measures. The aim of this study is to assess the level of perceived attitude and practice and associated factors among Dessie and Kombolcha Town administrations, north-east Ethiopia.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted using a structured interview-administered questionnaire from June 7 to 14, 2020, among Dessie and Kombolcha town residents. The data were entered to Epi Info-7.1 and exported to SPSS-23. Bivariable logistic regression was done, and variables with p < 0.25 were entered a multivariable logistic regression analysis model. Statistically significant level was declared at 95% CI and a p-value <0.05.

Results: A total of 828 participants were involved with a response rate of 98%. Of the total participants, 29.35% (95% CI: 26.3, 32.5) had poor attitude and 41.79% (95% CI: 38.5, 45.3) had poor practice towards COVID-19 prevention. Multivariable regression results showed a significant association with being male, unable to read and write, and mass media with attitude and rural residence, being widowed, a merchant, family size 4-6, spring water source and information heard from social media with practice.

Conclusion: Our findings revealed that there are inappropriate practices and poor attitudes towards COVID-19 prevention among Dessie and Kombolcha residents.