University Community-Based Survey on the Knowledge, Attitude and Perception about COVID-19 Pandemic: The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria as a Case Study

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an emerging viral infection, is impacting the social, economic and political patterns of the world. To contain the spread of this pandemic, Nigeria like many countries globally, has imposed drastic preventive measures such as physical distancing and lockdown/curfew. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP) about COVID-19 among members of staff of a university community in southwest, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey using an anonymous, self-designed, online KAP questionnaire was conducted from April 18 to May 31, 2020. Purposive and chain referral sampling techniques were used to recruit respondents from the teaching and non-teaching categories of the university. The KAP questionnaire consisted of ten knowledge questions regarding the identification of clinical characteristics, transmission and prevention of COVID-19. The questions on attitude (15) and perception (10) assessed respondents on adherence to policies and their views on government efforts to contain the spread of the infection respectively. A total of 125 (teaching) and 102 (non-teaching) staff responded. The respondents had scientific (78.8 %) and non-scientific (28.2 %) work background. Approximately 59.1 % of the respondents were males. The mean knowledge and positive attitude levels were 70.8 % (SD ± 9.6 %) and 83.1 % (SD ± 13.07 %) respectively. Significant differences in the knowledge mean scores were observed for demographic categories such as educational qualification (p = 0.0006), staff work category (p = <0.0001), work background (p = <0.0001), and type of lockdown (p = 0.0271). Most of the respondents (85.3 %) opined that COVID-19 was a biological weapon and viewed the lockdown as necessary (81.5 %). However, they thought that the Nigerian government was not doing enough to mitigate COVID-19 spread. The perception of COVID-19 in the university community bear implications across public health initiatives, compliance with precautionary behaviour and bilateral relations with foreign nations.

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 pandemic) in Nigeria: Multi-institutional survey of knowledge, practices and perception amongst undergraduate veterinary medical students

“…The respondents’ mean knowledge score was 22.7 (SD ± 3.0; 73.4%) with an overall 63.4% displaying good knowledge which seems satisfactory and similar to reports for medical students in Jordan with overall 69.5% showing good knowledge [ 30 ] and veterinary professionals in Nigeria (64.0%, [ 17 ]). The knowledge level displayed was higher than reports from two university communities in Pakistan (50.2%, [ 31 ] and Nigeria (59.5%, [ 16 ]) as well as among the public visiting a medical centre in Ethiopia (41.3%, [ 19 ]). However, other studies have recorded higher knowledge level towards the COVID- 19 pandemic among undergraduate students in China (82.3%, [ 32 ]), residents in North central Nigeria (99.5%, [ 33 ]), the United States (80%, [ 34 ]), and China (90.0%, [ 35 ]).…”

“…The questionnaire using google forms (Alphabet Inc., California, USA) comprised a total of 41 questions (both open and closed-ended) written in English and adapted from WHO resources and other pertinent studies [ 2 , 4 , 16 – 20 ]. The questionnaire was divided into four sections and comprised questions on students’ demographics, knowledge, practices, and perceptions towards COVD-19.…”

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 Pandemic) in Nigeria: Multi-institutional Survey of Knowledge, Practices and Perception Amongst Undergraduate Veterinary Medical Students

“…displaying good knowledge which seems satisfactory and similar to reports for medical students in Jordan with overall 69.5% showing good knowledge (Olaimat et al, 2020) and veterinary professionals in Nigeria (64.0 %, Adenubi et al 2020b). The knowledge level displayed was higher than reports from two university communities in Pakistan (50.2%; Salman et al, 2020) and Nigeria (59.5 %; Adenubi et al, 2020a) as well as among the public visiting a medical centre in Ethiopia (41.3%, Kebede et al, 2010). However, other studies have recorded higher knowledge level towards the COVID-19 pandemic among undergraduate students in China (82.3%, Peng et al, 2020), residents in North central Nigeria (99.5%; Reuben et al 2020), the United States (80%, Clements, 2020), and China (90.0%; Zhong et al, 2020).…”

“…questions (both open and closed-ended) written in English and adapted from WHO resources and other pertinent studies (Olapegba et al, 2020;Adenubi et al, 2020a;Adenubi et al, 2020b;Kebede et al, 2020;Pragholapati, 2020;Mahdy, 2020;Alzoubi et al, 2020). The questionnaire was divided into four sections and comprised questions on students' demographics, knowledge, practices, and perceptions towards COVD-19.…”

Knowledge, Perception and Practices of Coronavirus amongst Female Farmers in Nigeria

“…Farmers and cultivators in countries like Nigeria are rapidly starting to bear the impact of the pandemic, even though restrictions and lockdowns have largely spared agriculture sectors [7]. According to the Food and Agricultural organization of the United Nations [8,9], the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the agricultural sector both directly and indirectly [10,11]. Directly it affects food systems through impacts on food supply and demand, and indirectly through decreases in purchasing power, the capacity to produce and distribute food, which strongly affect the poor and vulnerable [12,13].…”