No abstract

COVID-19 is perceived as a major threat to public health and a danger to the economy globally, affecting people’s lives by influencing their everyday behaviour and causing feelings of panic anxiety, depression, and often triggering intense fear. The study was aimed at determining the perception, practice and coping strategies of adolescents in Rivers state, Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adolescent via an online Google doc questionnaire administered through WhatsApp instant messaging and about 200 responses were received within two month. About (45%) were middle adolescent (14-16 years), 52% were females, 74% in secondary school and 64% from monogamous family. Majority (66%) believed in the existence COVID-19, 36% of the adolescents perceived it was a deadly disease, 17% said it was a pandemic, 18% reported is a deadly virus that kills people fast and 6% said is a disease that ruined the whole world. About 54% were worried and perceived they might be infected with coronavirus.  Majority (94%) practiced one or more forms of COVID-19 preventive practices. Following the coping strategies, majority of the adolescents used more of emotion-focused way of coping than problem-focused way of coping. The male gender used more of problem focused way of coping than the female gender. Findings of this research are useful to better understand the coping strategies utilized by adolescents and help formulate intervention strategies to tackle various psychosocial problems during COVID-19 among adolescents.

Coronavirus disease 2019 [1] is an emerging public health problem threatening the life of millions of people. Farmers and cultivators in countries like Nigeria are rapidly starting to bear the impact of the pandemic. The study was conducted to assess the knowledge, perception and practices to COVID-19 among female farmers. A descriptive cross sectional design was used for this study, employing multistage sampling technique to recruit respondents. About (39%) of the respondents fell between 30-39 years with the median age of 35 years; majorities (56.9%) had attended secondary education and (49.2%) were married. More than half (56.4%) were into subsistence farming and they planted mostly tubers and vegetables. About (32.3%) of them did not believe in the existence of COVID-19. To (43.6%) of the farmersCOVID-19 was perceived as a virus, (32.3%) as a deadly disease, (12.8%) as political means of making money and (4.6%) as a high fever just like malaria and typhoid. Around (34.4%) reported the symptoms of COVID 19 as dry cough, (23.6%) as fever, (9%) as sneezing and (7.3%) as difficulty in breathing. Also, about (17.9%) reported that COVID 19 spreads through handshaking, (16.9%) through droplets (sneezing and coughing), (3.1%) through airborne and (20%) don’t know how COVID 19 spreads. With regards to practice, (25.6%) wash their hands 4 to 6 times per day and 5(2.6%) rarely washed their hands, about (28.2%) always wore their facemask and (36.4%) always used alcohol based sanitizer. There was a statistical association between age, level of education and the perception of female farmers to COVID-19 (P < 0.005).Also, an association was found between perception of COVID-19 and practices (P < 0.005). The study revealed poor perception and knowledge to COVID-19, which affects their adherence to public health hygiene. Since majority (73.3%) of the female farmers sourced information from radios/televisions, more awareness should be made in these platforms especially using their local dialect.

Aim: To investigate caregivers’ attitude towards transitioning HIV-positive adolescents from paediatric to adult centered care as well as understanding their perspective of transition inhibitors and facilitators. Study Design: We used a descriptive qualitative design and purposively selected principal caregivers of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years with perinatally acquired HIV who had been attending the paediatric infectious diseases clinic for at least 12 months before the study. Place and Duration of Study: Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The study was conducted from August 2020 to November 2020. Methodology: We included principal caregivers whose wards were not cognitively impaired, whose HIV serostatus had    been disclosed to them and who had been attending the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital paediatric infectious diseases clinic for at least 12 months before the onset of the study. Fifteen In-depth interviews were conducted and data was analyzed using the thematic analysis method with Atlas ti data qualitative software version 7.5.21. The sample size was determined when data saturation was reached. Results: Most principal caregivers did not understand their role and were not involved in preparing their wards for the transition to adult care. Perceived inhibitors to transition were anxiety on severing the long-term relationship with the paediatric health care team and concern that adult physicians may not be as caring as those in the paediatric clinic. Seropositive caregivers suggested that taking their wards along with them to their appointment at the adult clinic would facilitate transition.  Conclusion: Principal caregivers were unaware of their roles in the transition process, healthcare providers should actively involve and educate them to ensure a smooth transitioning to the adult centered care.