Assessing the level and determinants of adherence to COVID-19 prevention standard operating procedure among health workers in KCCA-supported health facilities in Kampala, Uganda.

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect millions of people globally including healthcare workers. Given the pandemic and the absence of effective treatment, authorities across the globe have designed various mitigation strategies to combat the spread of COVID-19. Although adherence towards preventive measures is one of the means to tackle the virus, reluctance to do so has been reported to be a major problem everywhere including in hospital settings. Therefore, this study was aimed at assessing the level and determinants of adherence towards COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) and its associated factors among the healthcare workers within the KCCA-supported public health facilities. Methods A cross-sectional study was employed among 435 respondents from March 2022 to May 2022 Cluster sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Excel and STATA version 14 were used for data entry and analysis. Modified Poisson logistics regression (Bivariate and multivariate) were adopted to identify statistically significant variables. Adjusted prevalence ratios ratio with 95% CI was used to declare statistically significant variables based on p < 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression model. The level of adherence of the participant was practicing at least three of four primary preventive measures such as washing hands many times, physical distancing, wearing masks and wearing protective gear. Results The overall prevalence of good adherence towards COVID-19 mitigation measures was 54.83% while non-adherence was 45.27%. Age group above 50 years [APR: 1.86(1.225, 2.819)], previous experience about COVID-19 [APR: 1.386(1.139, 1.687)], Profession [APR: 1.494(1.184, 1.885)] and having training on IPC [APR: 3.560(2.139,5.926)] were significantly associated with good adherence towards COVID-19 mitigation measures. Conclusions The findings have indicated that nearly half of the study participants had poor adherence towards COVID-19 mitigation measures. Age, profession, previous experience with COVID19, and training in IPC were factors which significantly influenced the adherence of the healthcare workers towards COVID-19 preventive measures. Therefore, it is crucial to track adherence responses towards the COVID-19 preventive measures and scale up the training and awareness of COVID-19 prevention to healthcare workers about COVID-19.