Keywords
Abstract
This study determined the level of knowledge, attitudes and practice of Lassa fever prevention among adults in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey was employed for this cross sectional community based study. The target population was 176,634 and the sample size was 399 adults determined using TaroYamane’formula for finite population. A multi-staged sampling technique comprising simple and systematic random sampling techniques was used to select the respondents. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.843. Data was analysed using SPSS version 21 and statistical tests included frequencies, percentage, mean standard deviation, while hypotheses were tested using chi square at ≤0.05 level of significance. Result revealed that 75% of the respondents had knowledge of the Lassa fever and the preventive practices and about 66.7% were aware of the varied preventive measures at their disposal. The study further shows that 56% had positive attitudes that could affect their practice of preventive measures of Lassa fever. The acceptability level according to this study was very high (89%) among the adults of Bali L.G.A in Taraba state. In conclusion, knowledge and attitudes were key in influencing the acceptability of any health-related programs, and consequently determines its adoption, if such knowledge and attitudes are utilized properly. The study therefore, recommends; educational intervention to improve the knowledge of Lassa fever among community members this will help towards its preventive practices.
References
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