Risk perception, public health interventions, and Covid-19 pandemic control in sub-saharan Africa

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) has had serious social, economic, and health effects globally. The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2), which was first announced in December 2019 has resulted in more than 24 million infections. There is paucity of knowledge on the role of risk perception in the adoption of public health interventions needed to control the spread of COVID 19 infections within communities. This was a scoping review and documents how risk perception may be a major challenge for populations to adopt and implement different behavioral changes recommended to curtail the spread COVID- 19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa; and seeks to proffer solutions on how the identified challenges can be addressed drawing from lessons learnt from previous epidemics within the region. Database search of Google Scholar, PubMed, Research Gate among others were performed using related keywords to identify relevant journals and lists of primary articles. Culture, religious beliefs and poverty may influence how populations respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Risk strategies that focus only on biomedical approaches to control the COVID-19 pandemic may not mobilize the needed behavioral change. Lessons learnt from HIV and Ebola epidemics showed that involvement of communities could help transform weak adoption of public health measures when measures were framed in the relevant cultural context. An understanding of the factors influencing risk perception is needed to design appropriate risk communication strategies. Community engagement and reliance on local communication networks could promote mutual trust and increase the uptake of public-health interventions.

A cross-sectional study of COVID-19 knowledge, beliefs and prevention behaviors among adults in Senegal

“…[30] Closer to the West African and Senegalese contexts, Aduh and colleagues (2020) reported that in sub-Saharan Africa moderate to high levels of COVID-19 knowledge and perceived risk. [15] Contrary to prior international research, we did not find an association between knowledge and engaging in prevention behaviors. Rather, perceived COVID-19 risk was a stronger predictor of prevention behaviors, which is also supported by previous international research.…”

COVID-19 self-testing in Nigeria: Stakeholders’ opinions and perspective on its value for case detection

“…This low perception of risk is also a barrier to the use of self-testing. Nevertheless, what this study has identified is the need to tailor appropriate risk communication and education to enable individuals to understand their risks (32), when resorting to malaria treatment in the absence of either a malaria or a COVID-19 test, or self-managing a COVID-19 infection without having at least warned their relatives and other close contacts.…”

Cross-sectional study of COVID-19 knowledge, beliefs and prevention behaviours among adults in Senegal

“…A 2020 international review by Puspitasari and colleagues reported generally high knowledge and awareness about COVID-19, pro-prevention attitudes and high adherence to COVID-19 prevention behaviours like hand washing and social distancing 36. Closer to the West African and Senegalese contexts, Aduh and colleagues reported moderate to high levels of COVID-19 knowledge and perceived risk in sub-Saharan Africa 18…”

“…Questions remain about why COVID-19 infections are reportedly low in Africa, in particular in West Africa where there have been 377 cases per 100 000 persons cumulatively. Although a 2020 analysis by Aduh and colleagues reported on perceptions and behaviours towards COVID-19 across sub-Saharan Africa, we have much to learn from populations in densely populated West Africa, a comparatively more urban sub-Saharan region home to more than 400 million people 18 19…”