Awareness, knowledge, and misconceptions of Ebola virus disease among residents of a rural community in Sokoto, Northwest Nigeria

Kaoje, Aminu Umar; Mohammed, Yahaya; Sabir, Anas Ahmad; Raji, Mansur Olayinka; Saad, Abdulmumin; Mohammed, Ango U

doi:10.4103/1755-6783.177378

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Some participants attributed transmission to respiration, eating contaminated food, smoking cigarette, water and ies. Similar misconceptions have been reported in areas with an Ebola outbreak [33,36,37] and underscore the need for intensive health promotion efforts in this community particularly as only 33% had good knowledge of transmission. Upon completion of our study, community sensitization was done in study area in collaboration with FAIRMED (formerly Leprosy Relief Emmaus Switzerland), under a self-help-oriented project implemented by FAIRMED Cameroon, with the aim of improving the health and empowering members of this community.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…These studies and ours were conducted during the West African EVD outbreak explaining the high level of awareness. Compared to other countries where information on the disease was obtained mainly through mass media [35,36], in our study, participants learned of the disease mainly from discussions in the community. Health talk was reported by a very small proportion (3%) of participants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Although more than half of the participants reported they seek medical treatment when ill, a signi cant proportion relied on traditional medicine and self-care . Studies in areas that have witnessed an outbreak of Ebola [35,36] have reported higher proportions of participants seeking medical care if they fall ill. This is because they must have received health promotion messages which emphasized the importance of medical care.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the determinants of Ebola Virus Disease Transmission in Baka Community of the Tropical Rainforest of Cameroon

Wirsiy

Bock

Akoachere

2020

Preprint

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Background: Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness in humans and nonhuman primates caused by the Ebola virus. The recently approved rVSV-EBOV vaccine is not available in many high-risk countries hence prevention is paramount. Design of effective prevention interventions requires an understanding of the factors that expose communities at risk. It was based on this that we investigated the Baka community of Abong-Mbang Health District in tropical rain forest of Cameroon.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with participants randomly selected from 13 villages in Abong-Mbang by multi-stage cluster sampling. A questionnaire was administered to them to collect demographic information, data on knowledge of EVD, their feeding and health-seeking behaviour. Data was analyzed using the chi-square test. Knowledge of EVD was assessed using an 8 item Morisky Scale. An adapted Threat Capability Basic Risk Assessment Guide was used to determine their risk of exposure to infection.Results: A total of 510 participants, most of whom were hunters (31.4%), farmers (29.8%), and had primary education (62.7%), were included in this study. Although 83.3% participants had heard of EVD, most (71%) did not know its cause. Their source of information was mainly informal discussions in the community (49%). Misconceptions were identified with regards to the cause and mode of transmission. Only 43.1% accepted EVD could be transmitted from human-to-human. Generally, participants’ knowledge of EVD was poor. Demographic factors such as level of education, occupation and ethnic group significantly affected knowledge of EVD. The majority of participants were at a very high risk of exposure to infection as they consumed various forms of bush meat and were involved in other risky practices such as scarification and touching of corpses. Although over half of participants seek medical care, most of them preferred traditional medicine. Socio-cultural and service-related factors were deterrent factors to medical care. Conclusion: Participants generally had poor knowledge of EVD and were at high risk of infection. We recommend rigorous sensitization campaigns in the study area to educate the population on EVD and clarify the misconceptions identified. EVD surveillance is recommended particularly as outbreaks have often been reported in the Congo Basin

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the determinants of Ebola Virus Disease Transmission in Baka Community of the Tropical Rainforest of Cameroon

Wirsiy

Bock

Akoachere

2020

Preprint

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“…(2015) [ 18 ] where the predictors of knowledge about EVD were being a health worker, being afraid about Ebola, and willingness to modify behavior. However, in another study in Nigeria, it was reported that education was a critical predictor of knowledge [ 44 , 45 ], also indicated by comparing literacy rates of Uganda and West African countries. The countries that were affected by Ebola in West Africa have lower literacy rates compared to Uganda [ 46 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and attitude towards Ebola and Marburg virus diseases in Uganda using quantitative and participatory epidemiology techniques

et al. 2017

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BackgroundUganda has reported five (5) Ebola virus disease outbreaks and three (3) Marburg virus disease outbreaks from 2000 to 2016. Peoples’ knowledge and attitude towards Ebola and Marburg virus disease impact on control and prevention measures especially during outbreaks. We describe knowledge and attitude towards Ebola and Marburg virus outbreaks in two affected communities in Uganda to inform future outbreak responses and help in the design of health education and communication messages.MethodsThe study was a community survey done in Luweero, Ibanda and Kamwenge districts that have experienced outbreaks of Ebola and Marburg virus diseases. Quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire and triangulated with qualitative participatory epidemiology techniques to gain a communities’ knowledge and attitude towards Ebola and Marburg virus disease.ResultsOut of 740 respondents, 48.5% (359/740) were categorized as being knowledgeable about Ebola and Marburg virus diseases, whereas 60.5% (448/740) were having a positive attitude towards control and prevention of Ebola and Marburg virus diseases. The mean knowledge and attitude percentage scores were 54.3 (SD = 23.5, 95%CI = 52.6–56.0) and 69.9 (SD = 16.9, 95%CI = 68.9–71.1) respectively. People educated beyond primary school were more likely to be knowledgeable about Ebola and Marburg virus disease than those who did not attain any formal education (OR = 3.6, 95%CI = 2.1–6.1). Qualitative data revealed that communities describe Ebola and Marburg virus diseases as very severe diseases with no cure and they believe the diseases spread so fast. Respondents reported fear and stigma suffered by survivors, their families and the broader community due to these diseases.ConclusionCommunities in Uganda affected by filovirus outbreaks have moderate knowledge about these diseases and have a positive attitude towards practices to prevent and control Ebola and Marburg viral diseases. The public health sector should enhance this community knowledge gap to empower them more by supplying educational materials for epidemic preparedness in future using appropriate communication channels as proposed by the communities.

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“…Compared to other countries where information on the disease was obtained mainly through mass media [37,38], in our study, participants learned of the disease mainly from discussions in the community. Health talk source reported by a very small proportion (3%) of participants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Assessing the determinants of Ebola Virus Disease Transmission in Baka Community of the Tropical Rainforest of Cameroon

Wirsiy

Bock

Akoachere

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness in humans and nonhuman primates caused by the Ebola virus. Treatment and vaccine are under development, hence prevention is paramount. Design of effective prevention interventions requires an understanding of the factors that expose communities at risk. It was based on this that we investigated the Baka community of Abong-Mbang Health District in tropical rain forest of Cameroon. Methods : A cross-sectional study was conducted with participants randomly selected from 13 villages in Abong-Mbang by multi-stage cluster sampling. A questionnaire was administered to them to collect demographic information, data on knowledge of EVD, their feeding and health-seeking behaviour. Data was analyzed using the chi-square test. Knowledge of EVD was assessed using an 8 item Morisky Scale. An adapted Threat Capability Basic Risk Assessment Guide was used to determine their risk of exposure to infection. Results: A total of 510 participants, most of whom were hunters (31.4%), farmers (29.8%), and had primary education (62.7%), were included in this study. Although 83.3% participants had heard of EVD, most (71%) did not know its cause. Their source of information was mainly informal discussions in the community (49%). Misconceptions were identified with regards to knowledge on the cause and mode of transmission. Only 43.1% accepted EVD could be transmitted from human-to-human. Generally, participants’ knowledge of EVD was poor. Demographic factors such as level of education, occupation and ethnic group significantly affected knowledge of EVD. The majority of participants were at a very high risk of exposure to infection as they consumed various forms of bush meat and were involved in other risky practices such as scarification and touching of corpses. Although over half of participants seek medical care, most of them preferred traditional medicine. Socio-cultural and service-related factors were deterrent factors to medical care. Conclusion: Participants generally had poor knowledge of EVD and were at high risk of to infection. We recommend rigorous sensitization campaigns in study area to educate the population on EVD and clarify the misconceptions identified. EVD surveillance is recommended particularly as outbreaks have often been reported in the Congo Basin.

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Awareness, knowledge, and misconceptions of Ebola virus disease among residents of a rural community in Sokoto, Northwest Nigeria

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Assessing the determinants of Ebola Virus Disease Transmission in Baka Community of the Tropical Rainforest of Cameroon

Assessing the determinants of Ebola Virus Disease Transmission in Baka Community of the Tropical Rainforest of Cameroon

Knowledge and attitude towards Ebola and Marburg virus diseases in Uganda using quantitative and participatory epidemiology techniques

Assessing the determinants of Ebola Virus Disease Transmission in Baka Community of the Tropical Rainforest of Cameroon

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