West Afr J Med. 2021 Apr 23;38(4):347-358.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11th March 2020. Individuals with correct understanding about the risks and severity of the disease are more likely to respond positively and practice recommended preventive measures.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 transmission and preventive measures among residents of Nigeria.
METHODS: The study was cross-sectional and involved 469 participants from 1st July to 31st August 2020. A 36-item questionnaire with Cronbach alpha of 0.753 was adapted and administered through an online survey tool. A snowball sampling approach was employed whereby the questionnaire link was distributed through social media networks including WhatsApp©, Facebook© and Instagram©. Data was analysed using SPSS 23 and a statistical significance level of 0.05 was used. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were employed to determine factors affecting the knowledge, attitude and practices towards COVID-19 transmission and prevention.
RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 39±11.29years. Majority (54%) of the participants heard about COVID-19 through mass and social media. The study found that 71.6% of the participants had good knowledge, just 31.3% had a good attitude while 84.9% of them had good practices towards COVID-19 in Nigeria. The high rates of the knowledge and practices were driven by income, age, education and marital status.
CONCLUSIONS: Majority of the study participants showed correct knowledge and adhered to recommended practices towards COVID- 19. However, there were gaps in the understanding of the underlying realities and beliefs in certain myths about COVID-19. Hence, interventions such as jingles and posters in various languages that would serve to correct the negative perceptions and myths about COVID-19 instituted through mass media and social media are recommended.
PMID:33901392
