Abstract:
Pandemics have claimed an estimated 414 million lives from 165 AD to present, with COVID-19 pandemic killing close to 2 million people. The best counter for pandemics has been the use of vaccines, but before it is widely available, the best strategy is to avoid being infected. COVID-19 pandemic was met by behaviours and attitudes ranging from unbelief to fear of dying and stigmatisation of those who have contracted the virus or recovered from the disease. This study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, practices (KAP), fear and stigma of the populace towards COVID-19 from state to state of north central Nigeria. This research was a cross-sectional study carried out from April to October 2020. Using stratified sampling, the population was divided into different strata based on sex, ethnicity, level of education, occupation and marital status. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire distributed to 650 individuals. Respondents who participated were 591 (males n= 335 and females n= 256), aged 18-60 years (mean age 30.25 ± 10.45 years, range 18-60). Data were analysed using SPSS 25.0 for Windows version 26.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Significant level was pegged at P<0.05, and all statistical tests were two-tailed. The results show that 98.3% of participants believe that COVID-19 disease exists. On the practice, 74.7% wear face masks, 81.5% avoid crowded places, 73.7% practice social distancing and 85.1 follow the WHO-hand-washing technique as measures to curb the spread of the disease. About 60.5% of the participants believe that lockdown is an effective measure to reduce transmission risk. 55.6% will stigmatise those who just recovered from the disease, 75.3% are afraid to visit high-risk areas as part of the protective measures, 12% believe that every infected person will die. More males (28.3%) than females (17.6%) believe that taking herbs can cure the disease (χ2 = 9.32, df= 1, P<0.01). All government and nongovernmental organizations must develop more awareness programs to win the battle against COVID-19 disease as the second wave is emerging.
