Abstract
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic brought several misconceptions that could hinder individuals from taking necessary measures to prevent infection, thus, undermining the public health containment efforts. We aimed to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 related misconceptions and their associations with demographic characteristics and prevention practices in Onitsha city in Anambra state, Nigeria. Methods: We analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey of 140 adult residents of Onitsha city in Anambra state, Nigeria, conducted in March 2020. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe the study population and determine the associations between COVID-19 misconceptions, demographic characteristics, and implementation of COVID-19 prevention practices. Data management and statistical analyses were conducted using SAS JMP Statistical DiscoveryTM Software version 14.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA). Results: The participants’ average age was 34.5 (SD: ±10.9) years, and most were males (54.3%). Misconceptions about COVID-19 among the study population resulted in markedly reduced compliance with nearly all prevention practices. Some participants believed that COVID-19 would not spread in Nigeria (34.4%, p<0.0001), was not fatal (10.8%, p<0.0001), can be prevented and cured through spiritual means (48.2%, P <0.0001), use of herbs (13.6%, P <0.0001), use of antibiotics (11.4%, p<0.0001) and that COVID-19 vaccine was available (25.4%, p<0.01). Misconception about the possibility of COVID-19 spread was significantly associated with non-compliance to all prevention practices (P<0.05) except travel restrictions. Conclusions and Implications for Translation: Our study suggests the need for the government to tailor interventions targeting the common misconceptions in Onitsha in order to improve the public’s trust and compliance with recommended COVID-19 prevention practices. Misconception has become a significant public health challenge, primarily as its prioritization over scientific evidence and guidelines directly affects the pandemic preparedness and control efforts and may cause more people to be at risk of contracting COVID-19. Copyright © 2021 Iloanusi et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic brought several misconceptions that could hinder individuals from taking necessary measures to prevent infection, undermining the public health containment efforts
While Lagos state accounted for 35% of the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria with 57,448 cases and 428 deaths, Anambra state reported 1,909 cases and 19 deaths as of March 2021.3 there is a relatively lower number of COVID-19 cases in Anambra state, the city of Onitsha faces the risk of a major outbreak due to its high population density and immense commercial activities often leading to increased interactions among individuals, unavoidable proximity due to the markets settings and influx of buyers and sellers from different cities within and outside Nigeria – these factors may catalyze the spread of COVID-19.4,5
Our study findings revealed that the general misconceptions about COVID-19 among residents of Onitsha city during the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak were that it could not spread in Nigeria, it was not fatal, a vaccine was available for it and that it can be prevented or cured through spiritual means, the use of herbs, and the use of antibiotics
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic brought several misconceptions that could hinder individuals from taking necessary measures to prevent infection, undermining the public health containment efforts. We aimed to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 related misconceptions and their associations with demographic characteristics and prevention practices in Onitsha city in Anambra state, Nigeria. On 31st December 2019, the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported as a pneumonia-like disease in Wuhan, China. In addition to being densely populated, Onitsha in southeast region and Lagos in southwest region, are the commercial hubs of their respective regions, resulting in high interactions among residents.[6,7] While Lagos state accounted for 35% of the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria with 57,448 cases and 428 deaths, Anambra state reported 1,909 cases and 19 deaths as of March 2021.3 there is a relatively lower number of COVID-19 cases in Anambra state, the city of Onitsha faces the risk of a major outbreak due to its high population density and immense commercial activities often leading to increased interactions among individuals, unavoidable proximity due to the markets settings and influx of buyers and sellers from different cities within and outside Nigeria – these factors may catalyze the spread of COVID-19.4,5
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