Risk communication sources and knowledge of Lassa fever in Nigeria: An impact analysis

Abstract

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 = .191, p < .05, Significant. .000) respectively, followed by television and family members/relatives at (beta = .124, p < .05, Significant. .002.) (beta = .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

• Knowledge
• Information sources
• Lassa fever
• Risk communication
• Nigeria