Community Awareness, Preparedness, Precautionary Measures and Self-Quarantine Activities Related to COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt

Farouk AbdelFattah Ibrahim, Alyaa; Yousef Mohamed Hantira, Neama

doi:10.21608/ejhc.2022.220357

Community Awareness, Preparedness, Precautionary Measures and Self-Quarantine Activities Related to COVID-19 Pandemic in Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Assistant professor, Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt , and Health Education, Faculty of Nursing, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences – Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

² Assistant professor, Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt, Health Education, Faculty of Nursing, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

10.21608/ejhc.2022.220357

Abstract

Background: A global pandemic of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) was declared in early March 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Across the globe, extraordinary measures are being taken to stop the formidable spread of the ongoing outbreak. Awareness of the disease, preparedness greatly influences people's adherence to preventive measures and quarantine under such conditions. Aim of study: to assess the community awareness, preparedness, precautionary measures, and self-quarantine activities related to COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt. Study Design: A descriptive research design was used. Study Settings: The current study was conducted among Egyptian subjects living in 27 governorates using an online survey method. Study Subjects: the study was carried out on a 640 Egyptian who were responded to the online questionnaire. Data collection tools: a Community Awareness, Preparedness, Precautionary Measures and Self-Quarantine Activities Related to COVID-19 Pandemic Assessment Survey was used which include five main parts. Results: Only one third had good awareness by the COVID-19. A little more than a third of the study subjects had good preparedness levels for fighting the disease. Around two fifths follow precautionary measures effectively. Over half of them conduct self-quarantine activities safely. Conclusion: A statistically significant association exists between the study subjects' preparedness and self-quarantine activities and their total awareness scores. Recommendations: An educational program should be designed to improve awareness and contribute to better practices toward COVID-19 prevention and Conduct community awareness campaigns based on the pre assessment of community needs and problems related to COVID-19 and using the issued WHO and MOH guidelines.

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