. Nanta Kliangkird; . Sommanas Naknual; . Tippawan Liabsuetrakul; . Wit Wichaidit
Volume 11, Issue 10 , November 2021, , Pages 1-8
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Use of face covering may help prevent COVID‑19 transmission. However, thereis a lack of data on behavioral drivers of face covering use and compliance to mandatory facecovering ...
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BACKGROUND: Use of face covering may help prevent COVID‑19 transmission. However, thereis a lack of data on behavioral drivers of face covering use and compliance to mandatory facecovering policy at health facilities. This study aimed to describe behavioral drivers and observedface covering use among outpatients and visitors at a tertiary hospital in Southern Thailand duringthe COVID‑19 pandemic.MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a hospital‑based, cross‑sectional study in June 2020.We developed, pilot‑tested and finalized an interview questionnaire in Thai. We also developed astructured observation questionnaire. Two trained enumerators recruited outpatients and visitors atthe hospital’s internal medicine outpatient department (OPD), surgery OPD, and the pharmacy usingthe convenience sampling. Another enumerator conducted structured observation of face coveringuse among outpatients and visitors when interviews were not taking place. We analyzed the datausing the descriptive statistics.RESULTS: A total of 206 persons that our interview enumerators approached agreed toparticipate (n = 206; response rate = 62.4%). Nearly all participants stated that the use of facecovering was beneficial in preventing COVID‑19 infection from others and preventing others from beinginfected (94.0% and 98.0%, respectively). Common barriers included inconvenience in breathing andspeaking (19.7%) and pain at the ears (9.6%). Structured observation of 408 outpatients and visitorsshowed that nearly everyone (>99%) had a face covering on their person, most of whom (94.6%)covered both their nose and mouth.CONCLUSION: We found near‑universal perceived benefits and compliance, but variations inperceived barriers, cues, and social norms for the use of face coverings. The findings of this studycan inform future intervention programs on face covering use promotion.