The utilization of COVID-19 preventive-related measures and factors among government employees working in Addis Zemen town, Amhara regional state, Ethiopia

Corona Virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has emerged as a global health crisis. Controlling the spread of the virus depends on the effective implementation of COVID-19, preventive measures. Government employees in Ethiopia play a key role in policy execution and public service delivery, yet data on their compliance with utilizations of COVID-19 preventive measures is scarce. This study aimed to address the extent of COVID-19 preventive measure utilization and identified factors influencing their adoption among government employees in Addis Zemen Town, Ethiopia. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from November to June 2023 among government employees in Addis Zemen Town. A total of 403 employees were randomly selected from 15 government offices, with 394 completing the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression. Model fitness and Multicollinearity were checked. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to identify factors associated with preventive practice utilization, with significance set at p ≤ 0.05. The overall utilization Corona Virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), preventive measures indicated that 169 respondents (42%) followed good preventive practices, with Confidence interval (0.37, 0.470). Factors like age 21–35 years (AOR = 0.29, 95% CI; 0.13,0.65), bachelor’s degree and above at (AOR = 0.12, 95% CI; 0.03-,0.55), married (AOR = 2.44 95% CI; 1.09,5.49), USA origin (AOR = 3.75, 95% CI; 2.06–6.81), China origin (AOR = 8.16, 95% CI; 4.63–14.37) and doing physical exercise (AOR = 0.03, 95% CI; 0.02, 0.07) were significantly associated on utilizations of COVID-19, preventive measures at p-value p ≤ 0.05at CI 95%. This study found that only about one-third of participants (37.31%) demonstrated good utilization of COVID-19 preventive measures. Factors such as age, educational status, marital status, perceptions of COVID-19 origin, and engagement in physical activity were associated with levels of preventive behavior. Therefore, we recommend that these factors may be considered in the planning and design of future health interventions aimed at improving preventive behavior.