“New normal” behavior and concern about Coronavirus disease 2019 of laborers in Muang district, Mahasarakham province

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) could transmit via droplet and direct contact, so "new normal" behaviors which are preventive behaviors such as mask wearing, hand washing and crowd avoiding were necessary for laborers to prevent themselves. Baseline data on “new normal” behaviors and level of concern among laborers in Muang district, Mahasarakham province, however, were still unclear. Objective: To study practice of "new normal" behaviors and evaluate level of concern of laborers. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 602 workers in Muang district, Mahasarakham province. All participants filled in a self-administered questionnaire which comprised of 5 parts to collect demographic data, COVID-19 infection risk, stress level, level of concern, and “new normal” behaviors. Factors related to "new normal" behaviors were evaluated by using forward stepwise logistics regression analysis. Results revealed that, of 602 participants, 549 completed questionnaires. The most "new normal" behavior was regularly wearing a mask over their nose and mouth when going out or being in close contact with others which accounted for 15.1%. Factors significantly related to regular mask wearing were work hours per day (ORadj= 0.7 (95%CI = 0.67-0.88)), COVID-19 infection risk (ORadj= 29.3 (95%CI = 15.06-57.08), critical level of concern (ORadj= 4.3 (95%CI = 1.13-16.70)) and moderate level of concern (ORadj = 2.1 (95%CI = 1.11-4.23)). The majority of participants have moderate level of concern (67.0%). Conclusion: Small portion of participants regularly practiced "new normal" behaviors, so stakeholders should have measures to increase risk and severity awareness of infection to promote “new normal” behaviors.