Prevention adopted by healthcare workers within their families in the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with the adoption of non-pharmacological preventive measures against covid-19 by healthcare workers within their families. METHOD: This is an analytical cross-sectional study carried out from October 1st to December 31st, 2020, with 11,513 healthcare workers in Brazil. Data collection through a virtual questionnaire on the platform Survey Monkey. To characterize the participants, descriptive statistical analysis was used with measures of absolute and relative frequency. Using inferential statistics, independent variables and outcome were compared, with hypothesis tests for association (chi-square, Fisher's exact test), logistic regression, and Woe analysis. A significance level of 95% was used. RESULTS: Most workers used measures such as hand hygiene, environmental sanitation, food hygiene, use of fabric masks, and physical distancing from family members. The association among variables was significant for the region, especially the South region, female sex, and nursing professionals. CONCLUSION: Healthcare workers adopt preventive measures against covid-19 within family life, especially the women and nursing professionals, with family isolation being the measure of greatest adherence.