Level of Awareness towards Covid-19 Recurrence among Adults COVID-19 Patients in Machakos Country in Kenya

Introduction: Cases of Covid-19 recurrence have become prevalent. This study seeks to establish the level of awareness towards Covid-19 recurrence among adults in Machakos County in Kenya. The study was guided by the health belief model and socio-ecological model.

Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional study. The study adopted a quantitative approach. The target population in this study was 7, 428 Covid-19 patients in Machakos County. The sample size for the study was 418 respondents. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the respondents for the study. Data was collected through a questionnaire.

Data Analysis: Data was analyzed through descriptive statistics comprising of frequencies and percentages. Chi-Square test was used in determining the association between the independent and dependent variables of the study.

Results: From the findings, the overall Covid-19 recurrence was 11.1%. Overall knowledge, attitude and practice levels towards Covid-19 management and control were high. The study found that gender, level of education, engaging in any form of drugs/substance use and abuse and practices towards Covid-19 management and control were the significant host status determinants of Covid-19 recurrence. The study also found that staff shortages, proximity challenges and contaminated hospital environment were the significant facility determinants of Covid-19 recurrence. Further, it was evident from the study that the significant clinical determinants of Covid-19 recurrence included oxygen treatment for Covid-19, and longer duration in hospital during the first Covid-19 infection.

Conclusions and Recommendation: The study recommends that the government should invest more in health facilities in terms of human resource for health personnel and equipment for treatment. The study recommends that future studies should be experimental so as to detect the actual biochemical concentrations for Covid-19 patients and recurrence rates among patients.