ArticleRisk management and healthcare policy2022
Double Face Mask Use for COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Among Medical Students at Makerere University: A Cross-Section Survey.
Article in Risk management and healthcare policy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of fit improvement strategies for respirators: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Knowledge and Practice of Personal Protective Measures Against COVID-19 in Africa: Systematic Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Pooled it
- Differential practice and associated factors of COVID-19 personal preventive measures among the slum and estate communities of Uganda: A community-based cross-sectional survey.Journal of global health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionThe second wave of COVID-19 greatly affected the health care and education systems in Uganda, due to the infection itself and the lockdowns instituted. Double masking has been suggested as a safe alternative to double-layered masks, where the quality of the latter may not be guaranteed. This study aimed to determine patterns of double mask use among undergraduate medical students at Makerere University, Uganda.
methodsWe conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire. All students enrolled at the College of Health Sciences; Makerere University received the link to this questionnaire to participate. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess factors associated with double mask use.
resultsA total of 348 participants were enrolled. The majority (61.8%) were male; the median age was 23 (range: 32) years. Up to 10.3%, 42%, and 4.3% reported past COVID-19 positive test, history of COVID-19 symptoms, and having comorbidities, respectively. Up to 40.8% had been vaccinated against COVID-19. More than half (68.7%) believed double masking was superior to single masking for COVID-19 IPC, but only 20.5% reported double masking. Participants with a past COVID-19 positive test [aOR: 2.5; 95% CI: 1.1-5.8, p = 0.026] and participants who believed double masks had a superior protective advantage [aOR: 20; 95% CI: 4.9-86.2, p < 0.001] were more likely to double mask. Lack of trust in the quality of masks (46.5%) was the most frequent motivation for double masking, while excessive sweating (68.4%), high cost of masks (66.4%), and difficulty in breathing (66.1%) were the major barriers.
conclusionVery few medical students practice double masking to prevent COVID-19. Coupled with inconsistencies in the availability of the recommended four-layered masks in Uganda and increased exposure in lecture rooms and clinical rotations, medical students may be at risk of contracting COVID-19.
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Registered trials
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