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Psychosocial Factors Associated With Adherence to COVID-19 Preventive Measures in Low-Middle- Income Countries, December 2020 to February 2021

Pengpid S 1 , Peltzer K 2 , Sathirapanya C 3 , Thitichai P 4 , Faria de Moura Villela E 5 , Rodrigues Zanuzzi T 6 Show all authors , de Andrade Bandeira F 7 , Bono SA 8 , Siau CS 9 , Chen WS 10 , Hasan MT 11 , Sessou P 12 , Ditekemena JD 13 , Hosseinipour MC 14 , Dolo H 15 , Wanyenze RK 16 , Nelson Siewe Fodjo J 17 , Colebunders R 17

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Health Education and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Public Health Mahidol University, Ratchathewi, Thailand
  • 2 Department of Research Administration and Development, University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa
  • 3 Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand
  • 4 FETP Division, Department of Diseases Control, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand
  • 5 Disease Control Coordination, São Paulo State Health Department, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 6 Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil
  • 7 School of Medicine, Health Sciences Unit, Federal University of Jataí, Jataí, Brazil
  • 8 School of Social Science, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, Malaysia
  • 9 Centre for Community Health Studies (ReaCH), Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 10 Department of Health Science and Biostatistics, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia
  • 11 Public Health Foundation, Bangladesh (PHF, BD), Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • 12 Research Unit on Communicable Diseases, Polytechnic School of Abomey-Calavi, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin
  • 13 Kinshasa School of Public Health, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • 14 University of North Carolina UNC Project Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi
  • 15 International Center of Excellence in Research, Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technology of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
  • 16 School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
  • 17 Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Int J Public Health, 2022;67:1604398.
PMID: 35645703 DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604398

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate psychosocial factors associated with adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: This online cross-sectional survey included 10,183 adults (median age 45 years) from nine LMICs. Participants were asked about adhering to four COVID-19 preventive measures (physical distancing, wearing a face mask, hand, and cough hygiene); a composite adherence score was calculated, ranging from 0-4 positive responses. Psychosocial measures included worry, anxiety, depression, social and demographic, and COVID-19 related factors. Results: Factors associated with adherence to more preventive measures included being a participant from Malaysia or Bangladesh, older age, higher education, belonging to the healthcare sector (either as or worker), having health personnel as a trusted source of COVID-19 information/advice, possessing correct COVID-19 knowledge, worry or fear about being (re)infected with COVID-19, and screening negative for general anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: Moderate to high adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures was found, with significant variations across countries. Psychosocial factors (worry, anxiety, knowledge, education, age, and country) seemed determinant in predicting the number of measures to which participants adhered.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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