ELDERLY PEOPLE AND CORONAVIRUS DISEASE: LOW RISK PERCEPTION LEVEL AND
ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN AREKA TOWN, WOLAITA ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA
Abstract
Abstract Background. Still now, COVID-19 is a public health concern in
both developed and developing countries. Risk perception has been
studied in different countries with different population groups.
However, there have been few studies conducted risk perception on
elderly people and there is no study on elderly people’ in Ethiopia
including this study area.This study aimed to assess coronavirus disease
low risk perception level and associated factors among the elderly.
Methods. To carry out this study among elders in Areka town from 01
August 2021 to 30 August 2021, a community-based cross-sectional study
was used. Multi-stage sampling method was applied to select study
participants. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire
with the mobile application of Open Data Kit mobile(ODK). Results. This
study showed that individuals with age range of 65 to 74 [AOR= 4.76,
95% CI (2.35-9.64)], poor practice on preventing coronavirus disease
[AOR= 2.39, 95% CI (1.51-3.78), low trust level in medical
professionals [AOR=2.44, 95%CI (1.45-4.10)], no history of
coronavirus disease [AOR=6.45, 95%CI (2.02-20.58)], poor perceived
self-efficacy for preventive practice [AOR=2.25, 95% CI
(1.43-3.54)] were identified as associated factors of low risk
perception. Conclusions. In the current study area, the perception of
risk of coronavirus disease was affected by age, perceived
self-efficacy, trust in medical professionals, preventive practice, and
history of coronavirus disease. Including Ethiopia, the findings of this
study would help for developing countries to generate evidence-based
policy decisions for elderly people during COVI-D-19 pandemic and future
pandemic(s). Keywords: Associated factors, Coronavirus, Elderly,
Ethiopia, Perception