Community-level survey of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) preventive measures in Kwara State, Nigeria: good knowledge vs poor attitude

Background: The public knowledge and adherence to the established coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) precautionary measures are crucial to Nigeria's war against the pandemic. Public health education on its preventive practices at the grassroots level was initially crucial to achieving a lower COVID-19 incidence in Kwara State, Nigeria. Methods: We assessed the knowledge of, and adherence to COVID-19 precautionary measures at the community level among 795 respondents from the three senatorial zones of Kwara State. Results: 54.5%(433/795) of the respondents were aged between 21 and 40 years, and 45.9%(365/795) of the respondents had a bachelor's degree or higher. Study participants had a good knowledge of COVID-19, its symptoms, and its mode of transmission. 91.8% of the respondents(730/795) had a positive perception of the COVID-19 preventive measures while 96.1%(763/795) of the respondents agreed that maintaining social distance was important in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic. However, only 38%(302/795) of them used face masks and only 25.7%(204/795) of the respondents used hand sanitizers. In addition, only 31.9%(253/795) of the respondents isolated themselves when they were ill. Multi-variable logistic regression analysis revealed that education, occupation, gender, and ethnicity were significantly associated with positive COVID-19 preventive practices among residents of Kwara State. Civil servants were more likely( AOR : 3.14; 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 0.67 to 14.82; P = 0.034) to have positive preventive attitudes than other respondents. Study participants with tertiary education and those that were Yoruba(ethnicity) were 14.81 times more likely(95% CI : 4.29 to 51.05; P = 0.001) and 5.19 times more likely(95% CI : 1.82 to 14.84; P = 0.007) to have positive attitudes towards the laid-down COVID-19 preventive measures respectively. Conclusion: The poor community adherence to the COVID-19 preventive practices could pre-dispose Kwara to more COVID-19 cases. More community engagement activities are needed to fully curb the spread of the COVID-19. Public health education should focus on preventive measures, vaccine acceptance, and community monitoring of COVID-19.