| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 2 | Page : 72-82 |
|
|
Assessment of the knowledge, practice, and perception of COVID-19 among patients attending the General Practice Clinic of a tertiary hospital in South-South, Nigeria
Osahon Enabulele, Somhi Ikhurionan, Doyle Etu
Department of Family Medicine, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria
Correspondence Address:
Osahon Enabulele
Department of Family Medicine, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, P.M.B. 1111, Ugbowo, Benin City, Edo State
Nigeria
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/jnam.jnam_1_21
|
|
|
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease that has affected peoples of all ages, gender, and income groups. Public health measures to limit the spread of the disease have not been well adhered to in Nigeria, due partly to poor public awareness and perception of the disease. Aim: This study assessed the knowledge of COVID-19, its perception, and practice of preventive measures, among patients attending the General Practice Clinic (GPC) of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria, with the hope of obtaining insights to guide strategic policy intervention to enhance adherence to prescribed public health measures. Subjects and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among patients attending the GPC of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from study participants. Data analysis was done using the IBM SPSS statistics version 22.0 (Chicago, IL, USA) statistical software. Results: Virtually all the respondents (99.2%) were aware of COVID-19. Majority had a good knowledge of COVID-19 (55.1%), good perception of COVID-19 (51.6%), and good practice of preventive measures against COVID-19 (50.4%). Most respondents (57.0%) were of the view that government agencies are not sincere in the fight against COVID-19. Conclusion: A majority of the study participants had a good knowledge and perception of COVID-19 and a good practice of preventive measures. There was a positive correlation between knowledge and perception; knowledge and practice; and perception and practice. We recommend that information and educational messages should be timely and transparently delivered to the people, with public and political office holders showing exemplary leadership. |
|
|
|
| [FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
 |
|
