Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention Campaign on Knowledge and Attitudes towards COVID-19 and Vaccines among Senior Secondary School Students in Kaduna State

Abstract

The study investigated the effectiveness of an Educational Intervention Campaign on Knowledge and Attitude towards COVID-19 and Vaccines among Senior Secondary School Students in Kaduna state. The study was anchored on three objectives three research questions and three hypotheses were postulated in line with the stated objectives. Relevant literature was reviewed on the key variables for this study. The study adopted a pre-and post-intervention study design to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention campaign on knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 and its vaccines among the respondents. The population for this study consists of senior secondary school students in Kaduna State, Nigeria. A sample of 50 senior secondary school students from four selected secondary schools in the state was used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was a pre-post intervention survey questionnaire, a multiple-choice objective test question with four sections: General information, knowledge assessment, attitude assessment, and additional information. Five modules were developed by the researchers covering an introduction to COVID-19, symptoms and transmission, prevention measures, COVID-19 vaccines, and benefits of vaccines. The instrument was validated by one professor and two chief lecturers, and its reliability was tested using a test/retest method. Data was collected through the administration of pre-tests and post-tests. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the bio-data of the respondents, while mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. Kruskal Wallis was also used to test all the hypotheses at a 0.05% level of significance on the knowledge and attitude of the respondents. The findings showed a significant difference in knowledge of COVID-19 and its vaccines by subjects after their exposition to educational intervention. However, the subjects did not differ significantly in their attitude towards COVID-19 and its vaccines before and after the educational intervention. The study concluded that significant differences observed in knowledge levels before and after the campaign underscore the importance of targeted educational initiatives in enhancing understanding and acceptance of vaccines, as emphasized by previous research. Recommendations were made to include the development of targeted educational campaigns by the government that address specific knowledge gaps and misconceptions identified among senior secondary school students, utilization of diverse communication channels and interactive learning methods to effectively engage students.