KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC AMONG RESIDENTS OF THREE COMMUNITIES OVIA-NORTH EAST, EDO STATE.

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC AMONG RESIDENTS OF THREE COMMUNITIES OVIA-NORTH EAST, EDO STATE.

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a contemporary public health challenge globally with countries of the world adopting unprecedented infection prevention and control (IPC) measures to urgently curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of the people toward COVID-19 is critical to understanding the epidemiological dynamics of the disease and the effectiveness, compliance and success of IPC measures adopted in a country. This study sought to determine the levels of KAP toward COVID-19 among residents among Residents of Three Communities Ovia-North East, Edo State,Nigeria. METHOD: Using a web-based cross-sectional survey, we collected data from 225 self-selected participants, evaluating demographic information. The overall respondents were between 18 and 29 years old (56.8%), being female (n = 134), belonging to educated groups, and graduated professionals (69.3%), the majority of them. RESULTS: Logistic regression showed that knowledge is highly correlated with education (p=0.031), occupation (p=0.002), and age (p= 0.016). Our study identified that, although people reported adequate knowledge by identifying expected symptoms and virus transmission ways in COVID-19 disease. There is a significant perceived susceptibility to contract the mentioning virus, displaying stigmatized behavior (59.1%) and fear of contracting the virus from others (70.2%). Additionally, it is reported to lack people’s confidence to health national authorities on the sanitary responses (62.7%), preparedness for the disease (76.9%) and the lack of adequate measures to deal with it (51.1%). CONCLUSION: We suggest that public policies consider guidelines on knowledge translation and risk communication strategies for both containing psychological responses in a timely manner and ensuring compliance with public control measures by the population.

 KEYWORDS: Attitudes, COVID-19, health communication, knowledge, perception, public health, primary prevention.

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background of the study

The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2020 and a pandemic in March 2020. As of 28 February 2021, more than 113 million cases have been confirmed, with more than 2.52 million deaths attributed to COVID-19, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history. Although it is still unknown exactly where the outbreak first started, many early cases of COVID-19 have been attributed to people who have visited the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, located in Wuhan, Hubei, China (WHO, 2019). On 11 February 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) named the disease “COVID-19”, which is short for coronavirus disease 2019 (WHO, 2019) The virus that caused the outbreak is known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a newly discovered virus closely relateted to bat coronaviruses, pangolin coronaviruses, and SARS-CoV(WHO,2015) Scientific consensus is that COVID-19 is a zoonotic virus that arose from bats in a natural setting (CDC, 2019).

Initially, most cases at the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, China had contact with live animals and seafood suggesting animal to human transmission. Later on, person to person spread was reported outside the epicenter [1CDC, 2019]. On 31^st December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. The causative virus of the disease was identified by Chinese authorities on 7th January [WHO, 2019] The WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January, and a pandemic on 11th March [WHO, 2019].

The symptoms of COVID-19 appear after 2–14 days following exposure and vary from asymptomatic, mild symptoms to severe respiratory disease [CDC,2019]. The main symptoms are fever, cough and shortness of breath. COVID-19 has a much lower case-fatality rate (about 2.67%) or <5% among the confirmed cases, compared with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and MERS [Deng & Peng, 2020] both of which were not reported in Nigeria. Comorbidities among fatal cases include hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction, and chronic bronchitis [Deng & Peng, 2020] . No specific treatment for COVID-19 is currently available. Clinical management includes prompt implementation of recommended infection prevention and control (IPC) measures and supportive management of complications, including advanced organ support where indicated CDC, 2019]. Prevention of further spread is of high importance and people should practice frequent hand washing, staying home when sick, and covering their mouths when coughing and sneezing [NCDC,2019]. Until a vaccine is developed, community-based interventions such as school closure, avoiding congregations, adopting social distancing, and creating employee plans to work remotely can help slow the spread of COVID-19 [NCDC, 2019]. Many countries enacted travel restrictions to prevent further spread.

From31^st December 2019 to 8^th June 2020, 6.96million cases of COVID-19 have been reported, including 401 970 deaths in 216 countries worldwide [ECDPC,2020]. In Africa there were 189 598 cases; the five countries reporting most cases were South Africa (48 285), Egypt (34 079), Nigeria (12 486), Algeria (10 154), and Ghana (9 638) [ECDPC, 2020]. Nigeria reported its first case on 27^th February when an Italian citizen tested positive for the virus after returning from Italy [Maclean, Ruth; Dahir et al., 2020] _. The virus has affected nearly all the states in the country by 8^th June 2020.

In northern Nigeria, Kano the most populous state in Nigeria recorded its first positive case on 11^th April, and as of 9^th June, there have been 1004 cases, 477 recovered with 49 deaths [Mbah, 2020] . Lockdown was instituted in the state on 27^th April after “unexplained deaths” of 640 people within the span of 2 weeks [Mbah, 2020] . Subsequently, handwashing, social distancing, and masking were made mandatory for all necessary activities in public places across the state.

Kano metropolis is one of the largest in West Africa and also a hub for commercial activities with an estimated population of some 13 million [Mbah, 2020] . It is also known for its predominantly Muslim population with many Islamic religious rites and practices requiring congregation and close human interactions e.g., prayers and pilgrimage. However, consequent to COVID-19, the Saudi-Arabian government stopped foreign Muslim pilgrims entering the country for the lesser pilgrimage (Umrah) in an attempt to curtail the spread of the disease. Furthermore, Nigeria directed prospective Umrah pilgrims to defer their plans as recommended to contain the coronavirus [Corrin, Waddell, Greig, Young et al., 2017] . The nature of the virus transmission and control strategies has affected daily activities, livelihoods and liberties, as well as halting several religious obligations, traditional and socio-cultural practices among peoples in many parts of the world. In order to successfully control the pandemic, there is a need to fully understand their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP), and perceptions. Thus, in this study, we sought to explore the knowledge people have regarding COVID-19, modalities of prevention, attitude, risk perception, the practice of social distancing methods and respiratory hygiene in Kano, Nigeria. It also evaluates the predictors of good knowledge of COVID-19.

 

1.1 Statement of the problem

Despite the level of advancement in health systems in high-income countries, they appeared to be the worst hit in terms of disease burden and the total COVID-19 related deaths. The epidemic curve is still rising in Russia and some low- and middle-income countries like India, Peru, and Chile [Musso, Cao-Lormeau & Gubler, 2015] . This is a strong warning to the low- and middle-income countries in Africa especially with the enormous socio-economic and health-related challenges observed in the continent [Corrin &Waddell, 2017] . Not until in recent time there was no proven treatments or vaccines are available to control COVID-19 and thus pose a significant threat to health care delivery. To flatten the curves, most nations, including African countries, have applied strict prevention and control measurements to curb the disease including regulations such as general lockdown, obligatory home quarantine, ban on public gatherings, international flights restrictions and raising awareness on proper hand wash, hygiene, and sanitation as well as social distancing [Prensa & plataforma, 2020] .

The rate of infection due to COVID-19 on the African continent is on the increase, especially in Egypt in the north and Nigeria in the west. As of June 29, 2020, there are more than 382, 600 confirmed cases, above 9700 deaths, and around 147,000 recoveries due to COVID-19 in Africa [Zhong, Luo, Li, Zhang et al., 2020] , with approximately 24% of these cases from Egypt and Nigeria alone. To stop this pandemic, it is imperative to institute effective infection prevention and control practices globally, nationally, and at the community level. Consequently, it is urgent to understand the public knowledge, reactions, adherence to, and acceptance of such measures that affect their daily life in several ways, especially psychologically, socially, and physically. This could be achieved through knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) studies [Wong & Sam, 2011] . The information generated from such studies, in addition to comprehensive reviews and recommendations, could help in the fight against COVID-19 and similar future threats [Wong & Sam, 2011] by improving the awareness level of the citizens and encourage positive attitudes which are necessary to beat the pandemic. These are necessary for both countries especially with the onset of community spread of the disease.Therefore this study seek to access the KAP among Residents of Three Communities Ovia-North East, Edo State towards the COVID-19 outbreak. This is a first report on the knowledge, attitude, and practices of participants with a scope covering more than one African country. Findings from this study would contribute to the global efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

1.2 Objective of the study

The main objective of this study is to Examine the Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of COVID-19 Pandemic among Residents of Three Communities Ovia-North East, Edo State.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

• Examine the Knowledge of Coronavirus (COVID-19) among the residents of three communities of Ovia North East, Edo State.
• To determine the Attitude towards preventive measures among the residents of three communities of Ovia North East, Edo State.
• To determine the Perception of the Government response among the residents of three communities of Ovia North East, Edo State.

1.3 Significance of the study

The outcome of the study will be helpful to the ministry of health in the development of their health programs as well as know the preventive measures to adopt. It will also guide policy makers in government, financial institutions and other associations and organizations related to health to draft policies that will help prevent the rapid spared of the virus. The study will also come out with recommendations that can be taken to ascertain KAP among Residents of Three Communities Ovia-North East, Edo State. Furthermore, it would serve as reference documents to the academics and researchers and to all those interested in the study in Nigeria.

1.4 Research questions

1. what is the Knowledge of Coronavirus (COVID-19) among the residents of three communities of Ovia North East, Edo State?
2. what is the Attitude towards preventive measures among the residents of three communities of Ovia North East, Edo State?
3. What is the Perception of the Government response among the residents of three communities of Ovia North East, Edo State?
4. What is the Community response to the pandemic among the residents of three communities of Ovia North East, Edo State?

 

1.5 Scope of the study

This study focuses mainly on the Knowledge, Attitude and perception of covid 19 among the residents of three communities of Ovia North East, Edo State.

1.6   Limitations of the Study

The time frame was not enough for the researcher to delve into the issue as comprehensively as would have been desired. This also informed the decision to focus on one department so the time would be invested in identifying and evaluating all possible aspects of the subject matter so as to make the study as comprehensive as possible. The use of a case study arguably has many limitations, however it allows for a level of research that was commensurate with the nature of results expected.

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC AMONG RESIDENTS OF THREE COMMUNITIES OVIA-NORTH EAST, EDO STATE.

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