Home isolation capacity after Covid-19 diagnosis in vulnerable communities of two Brazilian cities: TQT Covid-19 Study.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate factors associated with self-reported capacity to comply with home isolation after Covid-19 diagnosis in vulnerable communities in two Brazilian cities.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study, with data from a study on the implementation of an intervention based on strategies of testing, isolation, quarantine, and telemonitoring (TQT) of Covid-19 in Primary Health Care in vulnerable neighborhoods (TQT Covid-19 Study). Demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral data were used to perform descriptive and logistic regression analyses, aiming to evaluate the factors associated with home isolation capacity.

RESULTS

The sample consisted of 324 participants, most of them women (72.5%) and who self-reported to be Black or mixed-race (85.2%). Regarding level of education, 20.1% had up to elementary school degree; 42% had high school degree; and 37.9% had higher education or graduate degree. The density of people per room was high in 57.1% of households. In the multivariate analysis, high household density (≥ 0.5 residents/room) was significantly associated with reduced isolation capacity (ORa = 0.41; 95%CI 0.20-0.82). Other sociodemographic and behavioral variables, including age, sex, race/skin color, level of education, history of Covid-19 infection, access to health services, and preventive behaviors, did not present a statistically significant association.

CONCLUSION

According to the study, housing conditions, especially high household density, can be a determinant for adherence to home isolation. Thus, innovative prevention strategies should combine educational and structural actions that consider the household context of vulnerable families.