Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, F.N. Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana.
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Allied Health Sciences. University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2022 Nov 10;17(11):e0276381. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276381. eCollection 2022.
Adequate knowledge about COVID-19 in a population may be relevant in the fight to control its spread among the populace. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the factors associated with real knowledge of COVID-19 among Ghanaians to promote effective dissemination of appropriate information aimed at containing the spread.
A cross-sectional online survey and computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) was conducted among Ghanaians aged 18 years and above across the 260 districts of Ghana. The survey assessed the level of knowledge of COVID-19 and its associated factors and compared differences between perceived and real knowledge. One district health promotion officer per district was trained for the data collection. Participants were recruited via use of phone directories of both organized and non-organized local district groups. Phone calls were made to randomly selected phone contacts to schedule options for participation in the study. We used multivariable logistic regression to investigate the associated factors of COVID-19 knowledge among respondents.
Of the 2,721 participants who completed the survey, the majority (99.3%) were aware of the existence of the COVID-19 outbreak, had good knowledge on infection prevention (87.0%) and rated their knowledge about COVID-19 as good (81.7%). Factors associated with COVID-19 knowledge were: age ≥56 years (aOR = 0.5; CI: 0.3-0.8; p = 0.002), tertiary education (aOR = 1.8; CI: 1.2-2.6; p = 0.003), residing in Greater Accra region (aOR = 2.0; CI: 1.1-3.6; p = 0.019), not infected with the novel coronavirus (aOR = 1.5; Cl: 1.0-2.1; p = 0.045), knowing an infected person (aOR = 3.5; CI = 1.5-7.9; p = 0.003), good practice of effective preventive measures (aOR = 1.2: Cl: 1.1-1.5: 0.008), not misinformed (aOR = 0.7; Cl: 0.5-0.9; 0.015), and perceiving spreading speed of the virus as slow (aOR = 0.7; Cl: 0.5-0.9; 0.007).
The study found good knowledge regarding COVID-19, control measures, and preventive strategies. The Ghana Health Service should continuously provide accurate information to educate the media and citizens to prevent misinformation, which is vital in stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
人群中对 COVID-19 的充分了解可能与控制其在民众中的传播有关。因此，本研究的目的是评估与加纳人对 COVID-19 的真实知识相关的因素，以促进有效传播旨在遏制传播的适当信息。
在加纳的 260 个地区，对年龄在 18 岁及以上的加纳人进行了横断面在线调查和计算机辅助电话访谈（CATI）。该调查评估了 COVID-19 知识水平及其相关因素，并比较了感知知识与真实知识之间的差异。每个地区都培训了一名地区卫生促进官员进行数据收集。通过组织和非组织的地方地区团体的电话簿招募参与者。随机选择电话联系人进行电话联系，安排参加研究的选项。我们使用多变量逻辑回归来调查受访者 COVID-19 知识相关的因素。
在完成调查的 2721 名参与者中，大多数（99.3%）人知道 COVID-19 爆发的存在，对感染预防有很好的认识（87.0%），并对自己的 COVID-19 知识评价良好（81.7%）。与 COVID-19 知识相关的因素包括：年龄≥56 岁（aOR = 0.5；CI：0.3-0.8；p = 0.002）、高等教育（aOR = 1.8；CI：1.2-2.6；p = 0.003）、居住在大阿克拉地区（aOR = 2.0；CI：1.1-3.6；p = 0.019）、未感染新型冠状病毒（aOR = 1.5；Cl：1.0-2.1；p = 0.045）、认识感染者（aOR = 3.5；CI = 1.5-7.9；p = 0.003）、良好实践有效预防措施（aOR = 1.2：Cl：1.1-1.5：0.008）、未被误导（aOR = 0.7；Cl：0.5-0.9；0.015），以及认为病毒传播速度较慢（aOR = 0.7；Cl：0.5-0.9；0.007）。
研究发现，加纳人对 COVID-19、控制措施和预防策略的知识水平较好。加纳卫生服务局应持续提供准确信息，教育媒体和公民，防止错误信息传播，这对阻止 COVID-19 病毒传播至关重要。
