Knowledge, Attitudes and Preventive Practices on Ebola Virus Disease in the Kintampo Districts of Ghana

Abstract

This study describes community members' knowledge of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), their attitudes and preventive practices. A mixed methods approach was used. A random sample of 1028 community members aged 15 -65 years was interviewed in a quantitative survey. This was complemented with a qualitative study involving 24 opinion leaders who were carefully selected. The study was conducted in Kintampo North and South districts of Ghana from August 2014 to October 2014. 83% of respondents had heard of EVD, but 62.5% did not know the duration between the time of infection and onset of clinical symptoms. The most popular symptom mentioned spontaneously was bleeding through body orifices (48.6%). Majority of respondents mentioned handshake or skin contact as a mode of transmission (57.3%) and reduced contact with bats as a means to prevent the spread of EVD (58.1%). Knowledge of transmission of body fluids such as faeces, blood or urine was low (<10%), though this varied significantly by socio-demographic group. Majority (94%) of respondents acknowledged that EVD was a serious disease, however, only 58% saw themselves at risk. Current preventive behaviours included: improved hand hygiene (83%) and avoidance of handshakes and physical contact with people (81%). Community members in the Kintampo districts have high level of awareness of EVD, but important gaps in knowledge of EVD still exist, especially concerning body fluids as a mode of transmission. There is the need to intensify educational messages as part of Ghana's preparedness towards a potential EVD outbreak.

Community knowledge, attitude and practices regarding zoonotic viral haemorrhagic fevers in five geo-ecological zones in Tanzania

“…From our study, most of those who knew VHF named mass media, specifically radio, as their main sources of information. Similar findings have been reported in previous studies in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa [ 30 , 31 ].This indicates that mass media channels, are important sources of information. Three-quarters of the study participants had unfavourable attitudes toward VHF.…”

“…This finding is concurrent with a study conducted in Guinea where educated people had better knowledge on EVD than those not educated [ 18 ]. In a study in Ghana, people with no education, those not working were reported to be the least knowledgeable in EVD [ 31 ]. Educational level, monthly income has been reported to be significantly associated with practices as regards to infectious disease prevention and control [ 32 ].…”

Relationship between Contextual Factors, Psychosocial Factors and Hygienic Practices of Tribes in Liberia

“…Strategies to halt the spread of the Ebola virus included strict policy on hand washing with soap and alcohol, sanitary funeral practices, case isolation and contact-tracing with quarantine (Pandey et al, 2014). Nettey et al (2016) concur with these findings where they reported strict implementation to improve hand hygiene among others measures, thereby combating the spread of Ebola virus disease.…”

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Health Care Professionals on Ebola Virus Disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo

“…As a result, ignorance at the epidemic alert threshold and the attitude to take in the suspect person may have consequences for the increase of suspected and contorted cases [2] [12] [14].…”