Perceived Experience and Management of Covid-19 in Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 causes the COVID-19 pandemic. Misconceptions and perceived experience with the onset of the COVID-19 infection are attributed to variations in symptom progression and a lack of timely diagnosis. This study aimed to identify the population of people in South-Eastern Nigeria who had perceived experience with and management of COVID-19. This population-based cross-sectional study of adult patients in South-Eastern Nigeria. Data from questionnaires were collected and statistically analyzed. Four hundred twenty responses were obtained, with 200(47.6%) respondents reporting perceived COVID-19 experience and 220(52.4%) reporting positive COVID-19 test results. The mean age of respondents with perceived experience was 37.61±12.27, while respondents with positive COVID-19 tests had a lower value (40.59±13.42). In comparison, 75.5% of respondents with perceived COVID-19 experience manifested unusual symptoms sequence, whereas this phenomenon was observed in 51.8% of positive COVID-19 patients. The most commonly reported symptoms are fever or chill (100% vs. 100%), cough (86% vs. 82%), and breathing difficulty (86% vs. 82%). Respondents with perceived COVID-19 experience primarily obtain their medication from a drug store (34.0%), whereas positive COVID-19 test respondents primarily obtain their medication from a hospital (64.1%). The study concluded that a lack of testing facilities could increase perceived experience with COVID-19, resulting in fewer people being tested for COVID-19. As a result, it is suggested that government agencies develop strategies to reduce the COVID-19 surge and improve testing facilities in southeastern Nigeria.