ABSTRACT
Introduction: Since its emergence COVID-19 has become a global health threat. In Uganda, a number of COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been put in place by the Ministry of Health Uganda, to mitigate the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic among the population. Despite the putting in place COVID-19 SOPs, the deadly COVID-19 pandemic is still ravaging the population of Iganga District. This study investigated the level of compliance to guidelines for prevention of COVID-19 in public places in Iganga District so as to guide decision makers in making recommendations towards the entire public in order to prevent community acquisition and spread of COVID-19. Methodology: To deliver answers to the research objectives, the study adopted a cross-sectional survey design to guide the study process. Quantitative method of data collection using observational checklist were adopted for this study. The same data abstraction form helped to collect data from 3 public places which included: 3 markets, 5 public transport stations and 8 financial banks. Compliance was measured were the YES scored 1 and NO scored 0 and the ten indicators measured included: temperature screening, wearing of face masks, hand washing or sanitizing, physical distancing of at least 2 meters, information display on COVID-19, regular cleaning of public service places, cleaning of communal places, adequate ventilation, adequate waste management facilities and cleanliness of the work area. Overall a 4 point Likert scale used was: 0-2 poor, 3-5 fair, 6-8 good, 9-10 excellent were each indicator was equally important. Data was entered, cleaned and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2019 spread sheet packages to generate tables and bar graphs. Results: Out of 5 public transportation stations studied, 80% were observed to be poorly compliant to covid-19 SOPs. On the other hand, out of 8 Financial Banks included in this study, 75% were observed to have excellent compliance levels to COVID-19 SOPs. Meanwhile, out of 3 Market places studied, 66.7% were observed to be poorly compliant to covid-19 SOPs. Conclusion; The results of the study revealed that; public places in Iganga district generally have low level of compliance to COVID-19 SOPs in terms of temperature screening, wearing of face masks, hand washing or sanitizing, social distancing of at least 2 meters and information display on COVID-19 Dos and Don’ts. Our findings suggest that there is a need to mobilize the population in Iganga district to comply with COVID-19 SOPs in terms of temperature screening, wearing of face masks, hand washing or sanitizing, social distancing of at least 2 meters and information display on COVID-19 Dos and Don’ts.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Children who receive prereferral rectal artesunate (RAS) require urgent referral to a health facility where appropriate treatment for severe malaria can be provided. However, the rapid improvement of a child's condition after RAS administration may influence a caregiver's decision to follow this recommendation. Currently, the evidence on the effect of RAS on referral completion is limited. METHODS: An observational study accompanied the roll-out of RAS in three malaria endemic settings in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Uganda. Community health workers and primary health centres enrolled children under 5 years with suspected severe malaria before and after the roll-out of RAS. All children were followed up 28 days after enrolment to assess their treatment-seeking pathways. RESULTS: Referral completion was 67% (1408/2104) in DRC, 48% (287/600) in Nigeria and 58% (2170/3745) in Uganda. In DRC and Uganda, RAS users were less likely to complete referral than RAS non-users in the pre-roll-out phase (adjusted OR (aOR)=0.48, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.77 and aOR=0.72, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.88, respectively). Among children seeking care from a primary health centre in Nigeria, RAS users were less likely to complete referral compared with RAS non-users in the post-roll-out phase (aOR=0.18, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.71). In Uganda, among children who completed referral, RAS users were significantly more likely to complete referral on time than RAS non-users enrolled in the pre-roll-out phase (aOR=1.81, 95% CI 1.17 to 2.79). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study raise legitimate concerns that the roll-out of RAS may lead to lower referral completion in children who were administered prereferral RAS. To ensure that community-based programmes are effectively implemented, barriers to referral completion need to be addressed at all levels. Alternative effective treatment options should be provided to children unable to complete referral. TRIAL REGISTRSTION NUMBER: NCT03568344; ClinicalTrials.gov.