A Preliminary Assessment of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Knowledge and Perceptions in Nigeria

Olapegba, Peter O.; Ayandele, Olusola; Kolawole, Samson Olowo; Oguntayo, Rotimi; Gandi, Joshua Chiroma; Dangiwa, Abdullahi Lawal; Ottu, Iboro F.A.; Iorfa, Steven Kator

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3584408

Cited by 69 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…believing that social media contributed immensely to their knowledge [38]. Similarly, another study in Nigeria tentatively affirms that Nigerians aged 15-70 years have high knowledge of the virus and TV and Radio are their main sources of information about the virus [20].…”

Section: African Region and Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Also, another study in Nigeria reported that one of the most frequent responses on misconceptions about COVID-19 pandemic is that "the virus was created in a laboratory" [19]. Moreover, another study in Nigeria has reported that some people believed that COVID-19 pandemic was "a biological weapon designed by the Chinese government" and "consuming gins, garlic, ginger, herbal mixtures and African foods/soups as preventive measures against COVID-19 pandemic" [20]; though, both studies in Nigeria were not peer reviewed. That is, the studies were not certified by peer review process as authors reported [18][19][20].…”

Section: Aetiology and Epidemiology Of Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, some of these studies particularly in Nigeria were not peer reviewed and were online surveys. That is, the studies were not certified by peer review process as authors reported [18][19][20] but then their findings (especially the three reports from Nigeria) are a clear indication that misconceptions about the virus are still prevalent in the country. It is likely that sustaining or continuing with this type of belief-systems during the COVID-19 pandemic period will go a long way in creating more harms than benefits for humanity.…”

Section: Implications Of Misconceptions About Covid-19 Pandemic In Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hands, some studies have also reported on knowledge level of people regarding the virus in Nigeria and in other countries. The works of [38] and [20] from Nigeria have equally rated Nigerian people as having high knowledge about the virus with Television, Radio, internet/social media as their main sources of information respectively. Similarly, other findings from Malaysia, Pakistan, USA/UK, and Italy have also reported good knowledge and practices about COVID-19 pandemic among their participants [23,29,39,40].…”

Section: Implications Of Misconceptions About Covid-19 Pandemic In Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In spite of the daily increases in the cases and dead rates due to COVID-19 pandemic in the world and the global efforts to contain the virus; it has been reported in some part of the world especially in African continent such as Nigeria, Ethiopia and Asian region -India, etc. that there are some misconceptions about the virus among people [18][19][20][21]. Continuously holding on to some misconceptions in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic may create more harms than benefits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Implications of Misconceptions about Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic in Relation to its Daily Increases from Nigerian Perspective

Aminu¹

2020

J Infect Dis Epidemiol

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The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the world especially in African continent and Nigeria in particular has created negative effects on humanity. Continuous holding on to some misconceptions about the reality of the virus among people may create further problems for humankind. However, very few studies particularly in Nigeria have actually considered the implications of these misconceptions about the disease in relation to its daily increases; coupled with the fact that many people still hold on to some of these misconceptions in the country. Therefore, this study examined the implications of some common misconceptions among people about COVID-19 pandemic in relation to its daily increases in Nigeria. This study has documented some of the most common misconceptions about COVID-19 pandemic among few individual persons-both male and female in a neighbourhood area of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria. These include: "it is a white people disease"; "it is an imported disease"; "it is the disease of the wealthy people"; "incessant heat in Nigerian environment will destroy the disease (i.e. hot weather)"; "poor people cannot contract it"; "maintaining physical distancing practice is unnecessary"; "taking local herbs will destroy it"; "taking hot drinks (local gins) will destroy it"; "wearing of face masks is not necessary"; etc. both in rural and urban areas. Daily increase in the cases and fatalities of the virus in the country has been suggested in this study to be as a result of tenaciously holding on to these belief-systems among people. Virtually, all sectors in the country such as health, economy, transportation, agriculture, education, security, politics, religion, family, sport, entertainment, etc. have been seriously affected and still being threatened by the virus. Consequently, the negative impacts have been enormous on people' jobs/works, businesses, family life and social relations thus creating more harms than benefits. Therefore, positive change in people' health-related behaviours becomes imperative through effective and active public enlightenment and awareness creation with strict compliance to the prescribed preventive measures being put in place by the key stakeholders regarding the virus. This will go a long way in influencing positive health-related behaviours among people, getting rid of some misconceptions about the disease that may trigger larger community transmissions as the efforts to discover new vaccines or drugs for COVID-19 pandemic treatment continue.

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Section: African Region and Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Aetiology and Epidemiology Of Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications Of Misconceptions About Covid-19 Pandemic In Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications Of Misconceptions About Covid-19 Pandemic In Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Implications of Misconceptions about Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic in Relation to its Daily Increases from Nigerian Perspective

Aminu¹

2020

J Infect Dis Epidemiol

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Early geography of the coronavirus disease outbreak in Nigeria

Olusola

Onafeso

et al. 2020

GeoJournal

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An understanding of the COVID-19 spread is growing around the world, yet little is known of Africa. This paper explores the time–space geographies of COVID-19 infection focusing on Africa and Nigeria especially. We appraise the global-to-local situation of confirmed cases, deaths and recoveries as well as measures engaged in response to the pandemic. Findings reveal that South Africa accounts for 40% of the total confirmed cases in Africa, followed by Egypt (18%), Nigeria (6.8%), Ghana (4.6%) and Algeria (3.6). Our study shows a significant relationship between population density and COVID-19 cases in Nigeria (R 2 = 0.76; y = 2.43x − 268.7). This expression suggests that high population densities catalyze the spread of COVID-19. While Nigeria has only recorded about 25,964 cases as at the time of writing, the country is struggling to match pressures from rising cases as a result of existing disparities in health care systems.

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Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding COVID‑19 in N’Djamena, Chad

et al. 2021

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The first African COVID-19 case was reported in Egypt in February 2020. Since then, Sub-Saharan countries have struggled to respond to the pandemic. Among them, Chad is characterized by a high rate of poverty and mortality, a high burden of infectious diseases, insufficient epidemiological surveillance and underdeveloped infrastructure. In this study, we explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) regarding COVID-19 within the Chadian population, to determine whether there are more vulnerable groups of the population that require greater attention from authorities. This study was designed as a cross-sectional survey conducted in N'Djamena, Chad, using a convenience sampling technique that included 2269 participants. The study was conducted in May and August 2020. Questions regarding technical concepts were answered incorrectly by most participants (83.65%). The population had better knowledge about concrete aspects of the pandemics, such as prevention measures and contagion. Regarding attitudes, 34.55% participants were very concerned about the possibility of being infected, 81.27% were unsatisfied/very unsatisfied with their social relationships after the pandemic began, and 68.44% thought that the pandemic was a disturbing/very disturbing issue. As for practices, 49.41% of men followed all preventive measures compared to 32.07% of women, and 3.04% of people with vulnerable jobs did not respect any of preventive measures compared to 1.19% of people without this condition. Gender, job conditions and educational level impact KAPs within the Chadian population. It is suggested that local authorities in Chad should consider these variables when developing health strategies.

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A Preliminary Assessment of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Knowledge and Perceptions in Nigeria

Cited by 69 publications

References 9 publications

The Implications of Misconceptions about Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic in Relation to its Daily Increases from Nigerian Perspective

The Implications of Misconceptions about Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic in Relation to its Daily Increases from Nigerian Perspective

Early geography of the coronavirus disease outbreak in Nigeria

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding COVID‑19 in N’Djamena, Chad

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