A survey of public perception, knowledge and factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine acceptability in five communities in Ghana

Objective: The present study assessed the public's perception and Knowledge about COVID-19 and factors that could affect vaccine acceptability in Ghana. Design: We carried out a cross-sectional population-based study. A structured questionnaire was used to capture data on socio-demographic information, knowledge, and the public's perception of COVID-19 infection, as well as COVID-19 vaccine acceptability from consented participants. Factors affecting vaccine acceptability in Ghana were explored. Robust ordinary least square linear regression analysis was adopted to assess factors associated with vaccine acceptability. Setting: Five communities (Labone, Lartebiorkoshie, Old Fadama, Chorkor, and Ashiyie) in Accra in the Greater Accra district were selected. Participants: WHO modified cluster-sampling method was applied to select households of 997 participants in the five communities. Results: Most respondents were males (57.6%), and the median age of participants was 30 years. The study participants demonstrated a good knowledge of COVID-19 and had high perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed that the highest educational level, marital status, self-rated Knowledge of COVID-19, Knowledge of COVID-19 definition, Knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms, and perception of the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly associated with vaccine acceptability. Self-reported impact of COVID-19 lockdown/movement restrictions on agriculture and job as a source of livelihood was associated with vaccine acceptability. Conclusion: Higher subjective and objective knowledge of COVID-19 increases vaccine acceptability scores significantly thus, education on COVID-19 and the vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection must be intensified to improve vaccine acceptability in Ghana, especially among those with lower educational backgrounds

Prevalence of pneumonia by chest x-ray, associated demographic characteristics and health risk factors among COVID-19 patients in Ghana

Objective: The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of radiologically diagnosed pneumonia among COVID-19 patients and associated factors. Design, setting, and participants: A retrospective manual data extraction of 275 medical records of COVID-19 patients was conducted at two COVID-19 national treatment centres in Accra from March to May 2020. All patients had a chest x-ray done. Main outcome and analysis: The main outcome was the presence of pneumonia. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test of independence were employed to determine the associations between independent variables and the presence of pneumonia. All analysis was performed using Stata 16, and a p-value ≤ 0.05 was deemed significant Results: The prevalence of pneumonia was 44%(95%CI) =38.2-50.0). Chi-square independent test indicated that pneumonia in the COVID-19 patients was associated with educational level, history of domestic and international travel, mass gathering in the past 14 days before diagnosis, and discharge plan (p-value< 0.05). Patients classified as secondary cases (61.5%) and those discharged as fully recovered from the health facility (61.2%) had a higher prevalence of pneumonia. In addition, COVID-19 patients with hypertension (32.1%) and asthma (5.2%) had a significantly higher prevalence of pneumonia. Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of pneumonia was 44% and was associated with the demographic and personal characteristics of the patients. Early detection through contact tracing and community surveillance should be intensified to pick up more asymptomatic cases. The role of the chest x-ray for triaging patients and for clinical management of symptomatic patients remains key

Clinical features of COVID-19 in Ghana: symptomatology, illness severity and comorbid non-communicable diseases

Objective: This analysis described the clinical features of COVID-19 in the early phase of the pandemic in Ghana. Methods: Data were extracted from two national COVID-19 treatment centers in Ghana for over 11 weeks(from March to May 2020). Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. Modified Ordered Logistic and Negative Binomial Regression analysis were applied to establish factors associated with illness severity and Non-communicable Disease (NCDs) counts respectively. All analysis was conducted at the 95% confidence level (p-value ≤ 0.05) using Stata 16. Results: Among the 275 patients, the average age was 40.7±16.4, with a preponderance of males (54.5%). The three commonest symptoms presented were cough (21.3%), headache (15.7%), and sore throat (11.7%). Only 7.6% of the patients had a history of fever. Most patients were asymptomatic (51.65). Approximately 38.9% have an underlying co-morbid NCDs, with Hypertension (32.1%), Diabetes (9.9%), and Asthma (5.2%) being the three commonest. The odds of Moderate/severe (MoS) was significantly higher for those with unknown exposures to similar illness [aOR(95%CI) = 4.27(1.12-10.2)] compared with non-exposure to similar illness. An increased unit of NCD's count