Effect of receiving counseling for SARS-CoV-2 infection prevention on the adoption of hygiene, isolation and quarantine measures: Sulcovid-19 survey

Abstract Background : We aimed to investigate the associations between receiving counseling for protective measures and the actual adoption of hygiene, isolation, and quarantine measures in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2. Methods : We analyzed baseline data from the Sulcovid-19 study, a longitudinal research project conducted in southern Brazil.Participants were asked if they received counseling from healthcare professionals on protective measures against COVID-19. Participants were also queried about their behavior regarding hygiene, self-isolation, and quarantine measures during their SARS-CoV-2 infection. Participants' behavior status was categorized based on their responses into four categories: 1) remained without adopting, 2) began to adopt, 3) stopped adopting, and 4) remained adopting. We conducted adjusted analyses using Poisson regression with robust variance adjustment. All variables with a p-value ≤ 0.20 were included in the model. Associations with 95%CI that did not overlap between categories were considered statistically significant. Results : Receiving counseling increased the likelihood of "staying in a well-ventilated and individualized room" by 25.0% (PR: 1.25 95%CI 1.17; 1.33), "avoiding sharing space" by 14.0% (PR: 1.14 95%CI 1.06; 1.23), "performing hand hygiene" by 9% (PR: 1.09 95%CI 1.06; 1.12), and "using a facial mask" by 34% (PR: 1.34 95%CI 1.25; 1.43). Receiving counseling increased the likelihood of adopting all behaviors during infection by 4% (PR: 1.04 95%CI 1.02; 1.06). Receiving counseling enhanced the probability of adhering to hygiene, isolation, and quarantine measures both during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions : This underscores the effectiveness of healthcare counseling in influencing behavior in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.