Abstract
Public health and social measures have been implemented around the world in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Public compliance with these measures is key in successfully controlling the pandemic. This online survey assessed the compliance and attitude of adults residing in the southern African Kingdom of Eswatini to government protection, activity and travel measures aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19. A rapid online survey, comprising of 28 questions, was administered in May 2020. More than 90% of respondents knew the virus could kill anyone and most respondents (70%) reported to be compliant to public health and social measures. Females, those who did not use public transport and those aged 30 years and above were significantly (p<0.01) more compliant, particularly to protective and travel measures. Social media, television and official government websites were the primary source of ongoing COVID-19 information for respondents of this online survey, and these methods should continue to be employed to reach the public who regularly use the internet. More than half of essential workers who responded to the online survey reported to have their own personal protective equipment; however, 32% either did not have any protective equipment or shared their equipment with other staff members. Due to the survey being online, these results should not be generalised to populations of low socioeconomic status.
Highlights
COVID-19 disease, caused by the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus, was identified in 2019 [1]
Public compliance with these measures is key in successfully controlling the pandemic. This online survey assessed the compliance and attitude of adults residing in the southern African Kingdom of Eswatini to government protection, activity and travel measures aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19
This study found adult internet users to be largely compliant with these measures with an average overall compliance of 73% (SD = 31%), 90% of respondents perceived COVID-19 to be a serious threat, and the availability of Protective Equipment (PPE) for essential workers to be a challenge
Summary
Necessary IRB and ethical committee approvals were obtained from Ministry of Health (Kingdom of Eswatini) and University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St Louis (USA). The survey was registered with the Eswatini National Health Research Review Board. The survey started with a consent statement and participants who gave consent to willingly participate in the survey would click the ‘Continue’ button and be directed to complete the self-administered questionnaire. Respondents were free to terminate the survey at any time and no identifying information was captured. Resources: Sara Padidar, Shell-may Liao, Siphesihle Magagula, Themb’a A.
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