Appraisal of the knowledge, attitude, perception and practices among northern Nigerians in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak

Nafi'u Lawal; Muhammad Bashir Bello; Yusuf Yakubu; Aliyu Musawa Ibrahim; Samira Anka Rabiu

doi:10.2144/fsoa-2021-0058

Appraisal of the knowledge, attitude, perception and practices among northern Nigerians in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak

Future Sci OA. 2021 Oct;8(1):FSO. doi: 10.2144/fsoa-2021-0058. Epub 2021 Dec 1.

Authors

Nafi'u Lawal^{1

2

3}, Muhammad Bashir Bello^{1

2

3

4}, Yusuf Yakubu^{2

3

5}, Aliyu Musawa Ibrahim⁵, Samira Anka Rabiu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.
² Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.
³ The Fleming Fund Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Laboratory, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.
⁴ Center for Advanced Medical Research & Training, College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.
⁵ Department of Veterinary Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sokoto, Nigeria.
⁶ Department of Science & Vocational Education, Faculty of Education & Extension Services, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to measure the knowledge, attitude, perception and practices of northern Nigerians toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials & methods: This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study and the data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results & discussions: There were 713 participants, of which 54.0, 57.4, 67.6, 36.2 and 28.9% were between 18 and 30 years of age, married, males, having bachelor's degree and civil servants, respectively. High level of knowledge, attitude, perception and practice was found. Pearson correlation analysis found strong positive (r = 0.622; p < 0.001) relationships between knowledge, attitude, perception (r = 0.454; p < 0.001) and at last, practice (r = 0.282; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Young, male and married northern Nigerians of high socio-economic status had better knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and practices toward COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-Cov2; attitude; face masks; hygienic practices; knowledge; perception; practice.