AUTHOR=Zewude Bewunetu , Melese Belayneh , Habtegiorgis Tewodros , Tadele Mihret , Solomon Weynishet 

TITLE=Compliance With Protective Behavioral Recommendations in the Outbreak of COVID-19 Among People Working in the Urban-Based Informal Economy in Southern Ethiopia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.716814

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.716814

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: Regardless of the advocacies made by the media and numerous organizations about the need for preventing the spread of the pandemic, there still exists a gap as far as compliance to regular implementation of the preventive mechanisms within communities is concerned. The purpose of the present study was to examine the practices and experiences of compliance to personal protective behavioral recommendations to contain the spread of Covid-19 among urban residents engaged in the informal economic activities in Wolaita Sodo town, southern Ethiopia. 
Methods: A cross sectional study design was used where quantitative data were collected through survey research method. 384 participants of the urban-based informal economy were randomly selected and contacted in their own natural settings with interviewer-administered questionnaire. 
Results: The results of the research indicated that only 35.4% of the respondents regularly wear mask. In addition, 54.9% of survey participants disclosed that they do not clean their hands with disinfectants after touching objects under circumstances where they can’t get access to water and soap. Moreover, the most commonly reported reason of respondents for non-compliance to regular wear of a mask has been its inconvenience or discomfort (62.8%), followed by the need to appear indifferent because most people around them do not wear a mask (25.2%). Furthermore, respondents’ experiences of regularly wearing a mask is significantly associated to regular attendance of the media regarding the preventive mechanisms of Covid-19 (OR=.224; P<0.001; 95%C.I: .109-.460), knowledge of someone ever infected by Covid-19 (OR=.402; P<0.05; 95%C.I: .190-.851), the belief that Covid-19 causes illness (OR=.444; P<0.05; 95%C.I: .201-.980), and perception of the likely of dying as a result of infection by Covid-19 (OR=.374; P<0.01; 95%C.I: .197-.711).
Conclusion: We have found low level of compliance to the recommended safety measures, especially wearing of masks. It is therefore, important that continued efforts of raising awareness should be done by all the concerned bodies. Above all, urban safety net programs that aim at keeping such social groups at home at least during the critical wave of the pandemic should also be strengthened.