Assessing factors associated with adherence to COVID19 standard operating procedures in financial institutions in Mbale city.

Abstract

Background The Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a communicable respiratory disease that presents with flu-like symptoms and is caused by a new strain of Corona virus commonly referred to as the SARS CoV2 virus (Alexander E Gorbalenya, 2020; Zhu et al., 2020). By January 14th 2022, 157,000 people had been infected while 3,378 people had died in Uganda. People in financial institutions have been documented to be pivotal in spread of COVID-19. It is still not yet clear to what extent people in financial institutions adhere to COVID SOPs. Objective The major objective of this study was to assess the level of adherence to standard operating procedures for COVID-19 among people working in financial institutions in Mbale city. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study that used quantitative methods of inquiry in assessing adherence to standard operating procedures for covid-19. A non-probability sampling method was used in selecting the financial institutions. Quantitative data was analyzed using Stata SE 14 software. Results The results showed that 55.73% of the respondents were knowledgeable about existence of SOPs. Also majority of the financial institutions (77.86%) provided facilities for maintenance of SOPs while adherence to SOPs in all financial institutions especially wearing of face masks stood at 11.20%. Of the interviewed respondents, 89% said that many staff had contracted covid-19. There was a suggestion from 33.07% of the respondents that on top of observing SOPs, working in shifts can help ensuring there is enough space in banking halls for staff to enable proper social distancing. Generally, only 55.32% of clients and staff attending services in financial institutions were able to observe SOPs resulting in moderate adherence. Conclusion There is need to intensify the use of adhering SOPs both to people who come to bank in financial institutions and the people who work in these institutions. This will go a long way in mitigating effects of COVID-19 in financial institutions.