ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus. ‘CO’ stands for corona while ‘VI’ stands for virus and ‘D’ for disease. The former name ‘2019 novel coronavirus’ was officially changed on February 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization to its present name; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).Non-pharmacological measures remain a solid pillar in the prevention and control of COVID-19 regardless of the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Measures useful to control community spread include national or sub-national lockdowns, physical distancing, good hand hygiene practices, respiratory etiquette, and correct use of facemasks by symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, surface and object disinfection.
A combination of non-pharmacological measures implemented for a long duration consistently, guided by scientific evidence and contextualized within a nation’s socio-cultural and economic situation will help achieve a maximum control effect on the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. The continued education of the future leaders of tomorrow is paramount while ensuring that students and staff are guaranteed safe, healthy and supportive environments.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of non-pharmacological measures in the prevention and control of COVID-19 among students of the University of Benin with a view to raise awareness of the importance of these measures in the prevention and control of COVID-19 as well as make recommendations on how to improve knowledge of and compliance to the measures amongst the university students.
METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was carried out among students of University of Benin, from February to June, 2021. Six hundred students were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data was collected from the respondents using a structured self-administered questionnaire and observational checklist. The data obtained was analyzed with IBM SPSS version 25.0 and the quantitative variables were expressed as frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation. A p-value of < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval was considered as statistically significant.
RESULTS: Out of the 600 participants, males were 331 (55.2%) and females were 269 (44.8%) with an average age of 22.04 ± 3.26 years. Faculty of Education had the highest number of respondents; 113 (18.8%) and 300 level students; 247 (41.2%) responded more than students in other levels. Three hundred and forty (56.7%) of respondents had an overall good knowledge on the non-pharmacological measures in the prevention and control of COVID-19, 395 (65.8%) of respondents had an overall positive attitude towards the non-pharmacological measures in the prevention and control of COVID-19 and 55 (9.2%) of respondents had good practices of the non-pharmacological measures in the prevention and control of COVID-19. The association between knowledge and attitude towards the use of non-pharmacological measures was found to be statistically significant (p <0.001).
CONCLUSION: The overall knowledge of non-pharmacological measures in the prevention and control of COVID-19 among students of University of Benin was poor. The overall attitude towards non-pharmacological measures in the prevention and control of COVID-19 among students of University of Benin was negative and their practice towards the use of the non-pharmacological measures was poor. The University management should ensure regular monitoring and evaluation of strategies already in place to ensure continuous improvement in the knowledge, attitude and practices of the measures by the university community.
KEYWORDS: COVID-19, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Undergraduates, Non-pharmacological intervention.
