Adherence to social isolation in the Covid-19 pandemic among primary school teachers in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of adherence to social isolation and to verify associated factors during the pandemic of COVID 19 among teachers in Minas Gerais, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study carried out with a sample of 15.641 teachers. A digital form was applied for data collection. Descriptive analyses of the variables were conducted, which included adherence to social isolation, sociodemographic characteristics, occupational factors, and self-reported health conditions. Poisson regression model with robust variance was used and prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated, with 95% confidence intervals.  The prevalence of adherence to social isolation was estimated at 79.8%, and the associated factors were: female gender; age 60 years or older; living with a spouse; longer working hours; difficulty sleeping; feeling sad; and pathologies such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and respiratory diseases. There was a significant prevalence of adherence to social isolation measures among teachers, and that adherence is associated with sociodemographic characteristics, occupational factors and health conditions of education professionals.