Awareness and Knowledge of COVID-19 Pandemic among Rural Dwellers of Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the level of awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 pandemic among rural dwellers of Edo South. The study adopted the cross sectional survey research design. The population of the study include adult 18years and above irrespective of gender, social status, and religious affiliation, among others that domicile in the study area. Simple random sampling method was used to select 440 respondents from the population of Edo South. Questionnaire and in-depth interview formed the research instruments for data collection. Data were sorted and analysed with descriptive statistics and content description of themes. The findings revealed a high level of awareness vis-à-vis knowledge about COVID-19 among rural dwellers in Edo South Senatorial district. However, there were some misconceptions about the existent of coronavirus among the rural dwellers. These misconceptions seem to hamper the practice of non-pharmaceutical intervention mechanism like social distancing, good hygiene and use of face mask. The non-pharmaceutical intervention was recommended by the World Health Organisation as measure to curtail the spread of COVID-19 due to the complete absence of vaccines and antiretroviral. The study therefore recommended that Government should setup Rural Area Taskforce on COVID-19 to enforce the practice of social distancing, use of face mask, regular hand wash and good hygiene practice among others.