COVID-19 Health Literacy in Rural and Urban Communities in Nigeria: A Key Strategy for Improving the COVID-19 Outbreak Response

Abstract

Background This study aimed to describe COVID-19 health literacy in urban and rural communities in Nigeria. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to enroll adults from households in rural and urban communities in Akure, South-west Nigeria. Nine questions were asked on respondents’ health literacy, each arranged on a scale of “1” implying “very difficult” to “7” implying “very easy’. We defined good health literacy as cumulative scores ≥50 points, and poor health literacy as scores 40 years had nearly two times odds of having good COVID-19 health literacy (AOR = 1.640, 95%CI = 0.769-3.495, p = 0.200). In rural communities, people >40 years had nearly four times odds of having good COVID-19 health literacy (AOR = 3.523, 95%CI= 1.420 – 8.742, p = 0.017). Conclusion COVID-19 health education should be integrated into national health programs to address urban-rural differences in COVID-19 health literacy.

Keywords

• covid-19
• health
• health literacy
• nigeria
• rural health
• urban health