Health belief model and behavioural practice of urban poor towards COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Poor adherence to promoting health behaviours is a significant challenge for prevention and management of infectious respiratory diseases. Non-pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) remain a proven behavioural practice for reducing the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) currently ravaging the world. Studies on Covid-19 have primarily focused on epidemiology, virology, and potential drug treatments to the neglect of behavioural practice of low-income settings. This study examines the extent health belief model predicts the behavior of 405 urban poor residents of Ogun State, which recorded the first index case in Nigeria, towards adoption Covid-19 NPIs. A cross-sectional study was conducted to find out the relationship between study participant characteristics, HBM constructs and unhealthy behavior. Study constructs were assessed on a four point Likert scale and were mean aggregated such that higher scores indicated stronger feelings about a construct. Findings shows that urban poor in the age group 30-40 years were more likely to feel susceptible to contracting Covid-19 (mean score: 2.59 and std. dev. 0.54), they also had a higher perception of the benefit of Covid-19 preventive behaviours than participants in other age groups (mean score: 2.95 and std. dev. 0.71). Also, the most prevalent unhealthy behaviour amongst urban poor residents was the indiscriminate use of facemasks as shown by almost half (47.6%) of participants who agreed that they use facemasks all the time even when alone. The study concludes that though urban poor residents feel threatened by Covid-19, nexus of factors such as low financial earnings, inadequate knowledge, and limited access to basic medical needs hamper the effective adoption of NPIs.

Combating Lassa fever for sustainable development: Interplay of perceived behavioural control and current preventive practices in most endemic States in Nigeria.

Lassa fever has become a recurring incidence in Nigeria with high case fatality rates recorded in recent times. Given that total compliance with standard hygiene is recommended as a fundamental ingredient for the prevention of Lassa fever, this study investigated the influence of perceived behavioural control and current household and environmental hygiene practices for Lassa fever prevention among residents of selected Lassa fever endemic states in Nigeria. Data collected from primary sources through a mixed-methods approach, using self-administered structured questionnaire and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) was used for analysis and drawing of inferences. The sample size consisted of 663 survey respondents and 72 FGD participants. The quantitative data was analysed with the aid of SPSS version 23 using descriptive and inferential statistics while thematic analysis was employed in analysing the qualitative data. The findings indicate that the residents perceived certain recommended hygiene practices as 'easy-to-perform' while some are perceived as 'difficult-to-perform'. Compliance with standard hygiene practices is still partial due to the significant influence of Perceived Behavioural Control on current practices towards Lassa fever prevention in all the selected states at (R2= .023, .040 and .111 for Ebonyi, Edo and Ondo states respectively, at p˂0.05). The study recommends the establishment of community-based mechanized food/crops drying facilities at subsidized rates to remove the risk of food contamination by rodents during sun-drying and extensive use of interpersonal communication channels for door-to-door campaign for the total compliance with the preferred hygiene practices for Lassa fever.

Data on information sources, knowledge and practice on hepatitis B virus in southwest Nigeria.

In response to the global call for strategic information to understand viral hepatitis, the dataset provides information on the use information sources on hepatitis B virus (HBV) by residents of Southwest Nigeria. The data further shows the knowledge and practice level of residents on HBV. The data were generated among 582 respondents residing in suburban region of Southwest of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states through a self-administered questionnaire. The data found out that residents of Southwest Nigeria obtained information on Hepatitis B predominantly from the internet (mean score: 3.0687and std. dev. 1.3604). Furthermore, residents of Southwest Nigeria had sufficient knowledge on hepatitis B infection (mean score of 3.239; std. dev. 0.7481). In addition, most of the respondents depicted a positive secondary preventive practice such as insistence on the use of sterilised object in body piercing, demanding for change of blade, needle from hairstylist, screening before blood transfusion (mean score 2.9874; std. dev. 0.7488). The data utilized the Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) coding the data. Cronbach Alpha was used in carrying out the reliability of the research instrument. Descriptive analysis was further employed in data presentation.

Effectiveness of Yoruba language radio jingles in promoting knowledge, attitude and practices regarding Lassa fever among women in Ondo state, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Lassa fever is one of the known Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) that plague some states in Nigeria. Radio jingles in indigenous language have been adopted as a veritable risk communication approach to promote public knowledge in the bid to reduce the incidence of Lassa fever outbreaks in Ondo state which has recorded the highest number of victims in recent times. Given the high level of women's contribution in home keeping, food storage as well as maintenance of environmental hygiene practices, their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP), is fundamental for the control of Lassa fever. OBJECTIVE: The study examines the efficacy of indigenous (Yoruba) language radio jingles on knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards Lassa fever prevention among women in Ondo state. METHODS: The study adopted a qualitative approach using Focus Group Discussion as the method of data collection. RESULTS: Majority of the sampled respondents showed ample knowledge of Lassa fever. However, most respondents showed poor attitude towards the rodent vector and the recommended preventive measures have not been fully adopted by the majority of the respondents due to some identified barriers that hinder them from performing certain preventive practices. CONCLUSION: The radio jingles in Yoruba language have succeeded in promoting adequate knowledge of Lassa fever among women in Ondo state. Although attitude towards the disease vector is still poor and total compliance with the recommended preventive practices that will reduce the spate of Lassa fever in the state have not been achieved.

Dataset on Online mass media engagements on YouTube for terrorism related discussions.

The data examined 150 mass media YouTube videos on Al-Shahab, Boko Haram and IS terrorist groups from 2014 to 2016 to ascertain the kind of discussions about terrorist groups online. The discussions were categorized into 13 sub-topics namely; reactiveness to terrorist, fight against terrorist, government proactiveness against terrorism, advocacy for anti-terrorism, claims of attack by terrorists, threats by terrorists, recruitment by terrorists, prevalence of attacks by terrorists, condemnation of terrorist attacks, mockery of terrorism, accusation of government as ineffective, sex-slave by terrorists and victory by terrorists. Charts and tables were used to present data on discussion on the 3 above mention terrorist groups.