Determinants of violation of isolation in COVID-19 patients: findings from a local setting in western Iran

Background: Tracking the COVID-19 virus and its timely control by isolating infected people is one of the ways to overcome the epidemic and prevent the spread and circulation of the virus. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to measure the degree of adherence to the principles of isolation in COVID-19 patients and its related factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 on 369 patients with COVID-19 in Hamadan province, western Iran. Seven questions formulated according to the protocols of the Ministry of Health were used to assess the adherence to isolation principles in COVID-19 patients. The logistic regression model was used to simultaneously evaluate the predictors of violation of isolation principles in COVID-19 patients. Results: The mean age of the patients was 54.47 ± 20.1 years. Fifty-two percent of patients were female and 73.71% were married. The highest and lowest rate of adherence to isolation principles were using masks when leaving the room and safe meeting with relatives in 89.43% and 37.13% of the cases, respectively. The odds of violation of isolation rules in hypertensive patients [OR = 3.0; P= 0.029], patients who did not have an elderly member in the family [OR = 2.08; P= 0.017], and single patients [OR = 2.22; P= 0.024] were significantly higher. The odds of violation of isolation principles in those who did not have a child under 6 in the family was 2.29 times higher (P= 0.003). Conclusion: We found that adherence with isolation principles in COVID-19 patients at Hamadan is satisfactory and the violation of isolation rules mainly occurs in single patients, hypertensive patients, and patients who did not have an elderly member or a child under 6 years in the family. The results of this study can help policymakers to identify the target population for more educational training regarding the isolation principles in COVID-19 patients.