Risk communication sources and knowledge of Lassa fever in Nigeria: An impact analysis
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Cellpress
Abstract
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This study examined the predominant risk communication sources for Lassa fever, and explored the correlation
between risk communication sources and knowledge of Lassa fever in the most endemic states (Ebonyi, Edo and
Ondo) of the disease outbreak in Nigeria, through a mixed-methods approach. Using the multi-stage sampling
technique, 72 Focus Group Discussants and 653 survey respondents were selected for the study. Statistical
analysis was conducted on the acquired quantitative data, whereas thematic analysis was employed for qualitative
analysis. The results suggest that radio, posters and healthcare workers are predominant sources of information
about Lassa fever in the endemic states. The majority of the respondents possess adequate knowledge of the Lassa
fever vector, transmission routes, risk factors, and preventive measures, but knowledge of asymptomatic patients
was generally poor across the selected states. The regression analysis indicates that radio and healthcare workers
are the strongest predictor of the knowledge of Lassa fever at (beta ¼ .191, p < .05, Significant. .000) respectively,
followed by television and family members/relatives at (beta ¼ .124, p < .05, Significant. .002.) (beta ¼ .110, p <
.05, Significant. .007) respectively. The study recommends among others that; more efforts in risk communication
should be geared towards the dissemination of the health risk information through radio, healthcare workers,
television, and informal communication within the family network to further promote the knowledge of Lassa
fever and other epidemics in Nigeria at large
Keywords
HE Transportation and Communications