COVID-19: Knowledge Base, Attitudes and Practices among Practising Journalists in Abuja, Nigeria

COVID-19: Knowledge Base, Attitudes and Practices among Practising Journalists in Abuja, Nigeria

*1Chiamaka Obiageli Enendu, 2Samuel Wodi Jimba 1Postgraduate Student, Department of Media Arts, University of Abuja, Nigeria 2Senior Lecturer, Department of Library and Information Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria

The Coronavirus pandemic is presently the topic of discussion among various segments of global society. From the developed North to the developing South, within economically poor and rich countries, the huge rates of infection and resulting deaths from the pandemic has surpassed anything seen for a long time. Health systems and economies in both developed and developing countries are challenged in ways never imagined. The global efforts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic are moving at a very fast pace. Public health information is one of the strategies being used to ensure that persons are knowledgeable about the pandemic and adopt practices and protocols that will stem infections within the community. This study was undertaken to gauge the knowledge levels of journalists in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja and the impact of the knowledge on their attitudes and practices. The knowledge, attitudes and practice study model were used to gauge the interrelatedness of these variables among the study group. Logit regression tests, t-tests, chi-square and descriptive analysis were used to determine knowledge levels as well as what factors influenced attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 within the group. Overall, knowledge level amongst the study group was good and had a positive impact on attitude patterns. However, there was no high positive correlation between knowledge and practices. It is suggested that journalists in Nigeria must adhere to public health protocols in order to be able to engage in multi-platform public health information awareness publications which will sensitize the public into observing the COVID containment protocols.

Keywords: COVID-19; Knowledge; Attitudes; Practices; Journalists; Public Health Information; Nigeria

INTRODUCTION The entire universe is presently gripped with discussions and concerns about the novel virus called Coronavirus. Due to its geographical spread, effects and huge mortality rates, governments, institutions and individuals around the world are taking unprecedented measures to contain its further spread within the populace. Some of the developing measures (as of the time of writing) include travel bans, total lockdown of cities and countries, human to human contact limitations, as well as a robust public health information and awareness strategy. In December 2019, first reports emerged of a strange illness that was causing mortalities in the Chinese region of Wuhan. The disease, as later reported, was caused by a new strain of Coronavirus which generally affects the upper and lower respiratory tract. Most of the reported first cases of infected persons, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission (WMHC) had a history of

exposure to wildlife animals at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. This market is noted for selling poultry, snakes, bats, and other farm animals and is suspected to be where transmissions first started (Cheng and Shan, 2020). Initial suspicion was that transmission occurred from animals to humans, but as the spread of the disease widened, human to human transmission was confirmed (Chan, J. et al. 2020). As at 23rd July 2020, the World Health Organization reported that there were 15,012,731 cases of COVID-19 globally with 642,387 of these in Africa. On the same date, there was reported to have been 619,150 mortalities globally with 10,789 in Africa.

*Corresponding Author: Chiamaka Obiageli Enendu, Department of Media Arts, University of Abuja, Nigeria. Email: chiamakaenendu@gmail.com Co-Author 2Email: sjimba@nsuk.edu.ng

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Consequent on concerns from individuals and governments, the World Health Organization (WHO) on February 11, 2020 officially designated the novel virus as a pandemic and renamed it "Covid-19" (Deng, 2020). The idea was to stem what had become the rising tide of Chinese stigmatization - ("Co" stands for "corona", "vi" for virus and "d" for disease. Also "19" stands for the year the virus was first identified).

The scientific information on Covid-19 is still developing as at the time of writing. However, according to Dawood (2020), it is known to belong to the family group of Coronaviridae that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to other more severe diseases similar in the nature to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS CoV).

Generally, this virus presents as a pneumonia-like disease that attacks the human respiratory system, but it has recently been discovered that some persons infected with the disease are asymptomatic. For the others who show symptoms from the infection, the major presentations of the disease are fever, cough and shortness of breath (Zhong, et al: 2020). These can occur within two to fourteen days after exposure (US-CDC and WHO, 2020). Additionally, the World Health Organization reports that the time between symptom onset and death ranges from 2 to 8 weeks. Available public information also indicates that some people are at a higher risk of getting very sick from the virus. These include older adults; persons with chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes and lung diseases (WHO, 2020).

The disease is spread when an uninfected person inhales droplets of cough or sneeze from persons who are infected or when they touch contaminated surfaces prior to touching their eyes, noses or mouth. The World Health Organization in its COVID-19 situation report No. 73 (2020) postulates that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted from both symptomatic and asymptomatic persons to others who are in close contact through respiratory droplets, by direct contact with infected persons, or by contact with contaminated objects and surfaces. Due to the high risk of person to person infection, most health institutions have warned against crowding and advised social distancing.

In Nigeria, according to the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC), the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed on 27th February 2020 (https://ncdc.gov.ng/news/227/first-case-of-corona-virus-disease-confirmed-in-nigeria). This index case was the first to be reported in Nigeria since the beginning of the outbreak in China. It was of an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos, Nigeria on the 25th of February 2020. Since this index case, the number of infections has grown to 38,948 with 833 mortalities as at 23rd July, 2020. As in other countries and climes, the Nigerian healthcare system was sadly unprepared for the pandemic. When the

index case was announced, Nigeria had only two molecular test laboratories located in Lagos and Abuja. In the same vein, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) publicly declared the lack of adequate testing kits, personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as lack of adequate ventilators for the infected. At the commencement of containment measures, one of the isolation and treatment centres in the capital city of Abuja – University of Abuja Teaching Hospital – had less than ten functional ventilators. The unavailability of isolation centers for the management and treatment of the disease also posed a serious challenge as there was only the Infectious Diseases Hospital Yaba, Lagos equipped and available for a population that is approaching 200 million persons. In order to mitigate and contain the spread of the disease therefore, various public health information approaches had to be deployed to pass factual information to the populace. Governments and health institutions in the country adopted the strategy of public information because of the general belief that information plays a vital role in influencing attitudes that are responsible for mitigating the spread of the virus (Lima, 2020). The types of information disseminated by the Nigerian National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), the Federal and State Ministries of Health and Information, as well as other relevant government institutions include, but are not limited to measures on how to avoid infection and/or spread of the disease and the steps to take if anyone has identified symptoms of the disease. Specifically, it was required that people must regularly wash their hands under running water; use alcohol-based hand sanitizers; wear face masks when outside their homes; keep social distance and avoid unnecessary touch of the eyes, nose and mouth. It was also advised that once a person shows the symptoms of fever, cough and breathlessness, they should report to the nearest health facility. Amongst the public information platforms deployed to pass this information to the public are traditional and new media channels. Traditional media channels include adverts and jingles on television and radio, roadside billboards, newspaper adverts, as well as flyers and pamphlets normally distributed in public places. New media channels (or what is now generally referred to social media) have also been used as strategy for conveying information to the public. The platforms in use include official and verified Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube pages. The intent of using media to pass public health information on the COVID-19 is primarily to change attitudes and behavior and in the long run, to contain the disease. According to Hussain (2020) social media like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube are major sources for spreading information and news about the pandemic and these can play positive roles in containing the COVID-19 by promoting effective strategies to deal with the disease protocols.

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The KAP Study Model Most public and private institutions, including governments, have realized the essentiality of information in determining actions and attitudes. In this respect, once an issue of public concern occurs, information is always passed to the public to advise individuals to behave in a predetermined way (Bansal, 2003; Karim, 2011). The Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) study model has been designed and used severally to study the effects of knowledge on attitudes and behavior. According to You and Han (2020), the KAP survey model is a representative tool used for a specific population to collect information on what is known, believed, and done concerning a specific subject. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2014) Working Group on Monitoring and Evaluation issued a working paper on KAP in which it defined the purposes of a KAP study as:

To identify knowledge gaps, cultural beliefs, and behavioral patterns that may identify needs, problems, and barriers to help plan and implement interventions.

To deepen the understanding of commonly known information, attitudes, and factors that influence behavior.

To generate baseline levels and measure changes that result from interventions.

To assess and identify communications processes and sources important for program implementation and effectiveness.

To help set program priorities and make program decisions.

Explaining further, Chien-Yun, et al (2012) postulated that within the KAP model, knowledge affects attitude and practice directly, and attitude will also directly affect actual practice or intentions. Bano et al, (2013) explained the concepts in the KAP model as follows (see Figure 1): Knowledge is the capacity to acquire, retain and use

information; a mixture of comprehension, experience, discernment and skill.

Attitude refers to inclinations to react in a certain way to

certain situations; to see and interpret events according to certain predispositions; or to organize opinions into coherent and interrelated structure.

Practice means the application of rules and knowledge

that leads to action. A good practice is an art that is linked to the progress of knowledge and technology and is executed ethically.

Figure 1 - The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Model (Source: Bano, et al., 2013. Pg35) Studies in Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices There is a huge body of research that has been undertaken to determine the interrelatedness of information, knowledge and behavior during the outbreak of an infectious disease. Diallo et al (2019) studied knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) among students at a School of Medicine in Dakar, Senegal. They found that about 70% of medical students had a good knowledge of the main modes of transmission of Ebola. According to them, “this is a positive point because the mastering of this information should guarantee a reduction in the risk of transmission of Ebola”. Relating the knowledge to attitudes and practice, the study revealed that the main measures to prevent Ebola (avoid all contact with a person with EVD, avoid direct contact with the blood of an infected person or other body fluids, systematic hand washing, avoidance of bushmeat consumption) were known by more than 90% of students. A similar study on EVD was conducted by Mbuk and Umoh, (2016) in some Nigerian military barracks. They found out that majority of the sampled population had a good knowledge of the Ebola virus disease, the mode of transmission and preventive measures. Some of the generally held perceptions that Ebola can be spread through mosquito bites, traditional herbs and antibiotics can be used for prevention were not however consistent with acceptable scientific beliefs. Furthermore, they postulated that such good knowledge impacted on the attitudes of the respondents as many of them agreed to seek prompt medical attention when sick or take their sick dependents to the hospital when symptoms are noticed. Another virus that has remained endemic for some time is the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Quite a few studies have been conducted on how knowledge of its presentation in humans affects attitudes. Maimaiti, N., et. al (2010) did a study among university students in Xinjiang, China and reported that in general students in Xinjiang had a relatively high level of knowledge on issues related to

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HIV/AIDS transmission. However, only a third (33.8%) of the students had a positive attitude towards patients with HIV/AIDS. They explained this by stating that although students had good knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS, they still harbor a negative attitude towards HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS patients. Furthermore, knowledge alone is not enough to change attitudes towards people having HIV/AIDS, but deep-seated social and cultural factors such as religion, attitude towards ill-health and risk behaviors especially sexual behaviors can affect attitudes too. Mekonnen, Behailu and Wakgari (2018) studied knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding HIV/AIDS among people with disabilities in Hawassa City, Southern Ethiopia. They concluded that among disabled people, knowledge had a significant effect on favourable attitudes towards HIV/AIDS even though there remained much room for improvement. Another study examined the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to HIV/AIDS prevention among Zimbabwean university students (Terry, P., et. al, 2006). Overall, the study found out that the sexual attitudes and practices of young men and women who participated in an instruction programme were changing as a result of the knowledge gained about the disease, but that progress in some areas does not assure progress in all areas. Concerning COVID-19, a few studies have appeared in the literature indicating a global interest in understanding human behavior and attitudes during the pendency of the pandemic. Zhong, Luo et al (2020) undertook a study on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. They found out that the COVID-19 knowledge score was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of negative attitudes and preventive practices towards COVID-19. Furthermore, most Chinese residents of a relatively high socioeconomic status, in particular women, showed an appreciable level of knowledge about COVID-19 and therefore hold optimistic attitudes and appropriate practices towards COVID-19. In the United States, a study of the awareness and perceptions of COVID-19 was carried out by RTI International (https://www.rti.org/coronavirus-united-states-survey) in February 2020. Results from the survey indicated that while 86 percent of respondents had seen, read, or heard about COVID-19, overall results showed there were deficits in respondents’ knowledge. One-third of respondents incorrectly believed that most people infected with the COVID-19 will die from it, while 59 percent knew that most people who are infected recover from it. Concerning behavior, more than 80 percent of respondents supported actions (e.g. mandatory quarantine, school closures and lockdowns) taken by the government to slow down the spread of the virus. A similar number of respondents were also willing to adjust personal

life practices by skipping mass gatherings such as concerts, festivals and sporting activities, as well as skip community places like churches, restaurants and parks. Reuben, et al. (2020) studied the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices towards COVID-19 in North-Central Nigeria. Their findings suggest that Nigerians generally have a good level of knowledge on COVID-19 with a positive attitude and compliance with the necessary protocols outlined by the government. In the same study, the authors found out that despite their demerits, social media and the internet contributed significantly to the acquisition of the needed knowledge towards COVID-19. Another study by Taiwo, Idowu and Salaudeen, Fatimah (2020) undertook a population-based survey to measure the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices towards COVID-19 in Nigeria. The findings of the study showed that the Nigerian population demonstrated good knowledge, positive attitudes, and considerable practice towards the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives The objectives of the study are to:

i. Find out if journalists working in Abuja, Nigeria had a good knowledge base towards COVID-19;

ii. Find out if any demographic variable among the journalists has any correlation with their knowledge, attitudes and practices;

iii. To investigate if there is any correlation between the knowledge variable and attitudes and practices among the study group.

Study Methodology The population for this study is made up of practicing journalists who work in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja and its environs. The underlying assumption for choosing this group is that as professionals who are daily involved in the processing and disseminating COVID-19 information, they are expected to know much about the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, it is assumed that this knowledge will positively impact on their attitudes and practices. Abuja, being the capital city of Nigeria hosts journalists from the most important media houses in Nigeria. This group of journalists is what might be referred to as “media influencers”. They report from the most important sectors of the Nigerian polity. The specific number of journalists residing in and around Abuja is presently unknown due to the fact that the journalists’ union does not keep a regular list as well as the fact that some of them are independent bloggers. In this respect, an estimate of 150 was used for the study. In order to manage the study and due to paucity of funds, fifty journalists were randomly selected from the entire

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population for the study. The journalists who were selected cut across those working in traditional and new (social) media platforms. The survey instrument was mailed to them by email at the end of March 2020 and they were expected to respond to the questionnaire by the end of the first week of April 2020. At the end of the response period, thirty of the fifty respondents had answered and returned the questionnaire, giving a response rate of sixty percent. The Study Instrument

To key into the emerging body of research on knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19, this study used a slightly modified version of a questionnaire from the research undertaken by Zhong, Luo, Li, et al (2020). The modification was only to add demographic variables and adjust the questions to suit local peculiarities. Since the source questionnaire in Zhong (2020) had already being validated, it was considered not necessary to revalidate the instrument for this present study as it didn’t significantly alter it. The instrument finally contained 22 items (see Table 1) that captured demographics, knowledge levels, attitudes and practices among the study population. Using personal knowledge of the journalism practitioners in the study environment, the questionnaire was administered over ten days from the end of March to early April 2020. The first questions (D1-D5) in the instrument consisted of demographic variables – age, gender, marital status, educational level and years of practice as a journalist. The next set of questions (K1-K12) sought to know the knowledge levels of the respondents while the next set of questions (A1-A2) was purely attitudinal. Finally, the instrument sought to elicit the personal practices of respondents about avoidance of COVID-19(questions P1-P3).

RESULTS

Among the respondents who participated in the survey, the mean age was 37. There were 20 females and 10 males while the mean number of years spent as a practicing journalist was 9 (see Table 2).

Results of the effect/impact of demographic variables on practices towards COVID-19 are presented in Table 3. Logit regression was run using five explanatory variables to determine what factors influences the practices towards COVID-19 within the study group. The log-likelihood value is -15.893406; and the associated Chi-square value (7.43) is statistically significant 10% level of probability. This implies that the model can be relied upon to explain the probability of practices towards COVID-19 in the study group.

The result shows that only the odd ratios of journalists age (-.4932106) was negative and statistically significant (p≤0.05). Since the age is negative and significant at 5%, it implies that additional increase in age can decrease the probability of wearing masks when leaving home while

holding other variables constant. This finding implies that younger people use face mask more when leaving home. With respect to the other demographic variables, Logit regression was run on the variables to determine what factors influences the practices towards COVID-19 in the study group. The log likelihood value is -6.883382; and the associated Chi-square value (9.56) is statistically significant at 10% level of probability. This implies that the model can be relied upon to explain probability of practices towards COVID-19 (the practices of washing hands always with soap and running water) in the study area. The result shows that only the odd ratio of age of journalists (.0969866) was positive and statistically significant (p≤0.05) to the journalists practices towards COVID-19 (the practices of washing hands always with soap and running water). Age is positive and significant at 5% implies that additional increase in age could likely increase the journalists’ probability of their practices towards COVID-19; that is the practices of washing their hands always with soap and running water to manage the pandemic in the study area while holding other variables constant. The results further indicated that the remaining variables are not statistically significant, indicating that the variables are unlikely to substantially influence practices towards COVID-19 in the study area. (see Table 4) Similarly, the journalist’s year of experience in practice was positive (.3313793) and statistically significant at 5% level of probability to their practices towards COVID-19. This implies that increase in years of experience in journalism may likely increase their probability of wearing masks while leaving home as well as in their knowledge of the pandemic. This may be because they have experienced other outbreaks of pandemics in the course of their professional practice. The results further showed that the remaining variables were not statistically significant, indicating that the variables are unlikely to substantially influence practices towards COVID-19 in the study group. The study also sought to correlate knowledge and attitudes within the study group (see Table 5). It is important to point out that some variables, e.g. K6 returned 100% false answer among the study group, as well as K10, K11 and K12 all returning a 100% True response. Knowledge variable K.4 (Not all persons with COVID-19 will develop to severe cases. Only those who are elderly, have chronic illnesses, and are obese are more likely to be severe cases) is directly related to attitude variable A.1 (Do you agree that COVID-19 will finally be successfully controlled?) at 10%. This implies that increasing the knowledge variable also increases the agreement level on the control of COVID-19. Knowledge variable K.5 (Eating bush meat or contacting pets such as dogs and cats would result in infection by the COVID-19 virus) is inversely related to attitude variable

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A.2 (Do you have confidence that Nigeria can win the battle against COVID-19 Virus) at 1%. The two variables have a negative and significant relationship at 1%. This implies that as the knowledge variable increase the confidence that Nigeria can win the battle against COVID-19 Virus decreases.

Knowledge variable K.7 (The COVID-19 virus spreads via respiratory droplets of infected individuals) is directly related to attitude variable A.2 (Do you have confidence that Nigeria can win the battle against COVID-19 Virus) at 1%. The two variables have a positive and significant relationship at 1%, signifying that as knowledge variable increases the confidence that Nigeria can win the battle against COVID-19 Virus also increases.

Knowledge variable K.9 (Children and young adults do not need to take measures to prevent the infection by COVID-19 virus) is inversely related to attitude variable A.2 (Do you have the confidence that Nigeria can win the battle against COVID-19 Virus) at 10%. The two variables have a negative and significant relationship at 10%, implying that an increase in the knowledge variable decreases the confidence that Nigeria can win the battle against COVID-19 Virus.

The study sought to correlate the knowledge of the respondents to their attitudes towards COVID-19 (Table 6). A majority (96.7%) of the respondents agreed that COVID-19 will eventually be controlled successfully. This implies that in spite of the current challenges in mitigating the spread of the virus, the journalists have a positive attitude that current global efforts towards finding a cure or vaccine for the pandemic will succeed. Nationally, the respondents showed a confidence level of 93.3% that Nigeria can win the battle against COVID-19. This means the study group have positive attitude towards eventually winning the battle against COVID-19.

In relation to the respondents’ practices towards the mitigation of COVID-19, Table 7 indicates that a majority (96.7%) of the respondents displayed practices that do not align with their knowledge of how the virus is spread. Almost all of them have gone to a crowded place like a Church or Mosque. The implication is that the journalists have negative or poor management practice towards the spread of COVID-19.

One of the control protocols advised by medical personnel worldwide is the wearing of masks to avoid inhaling human droplets. Many of our respondents (53.3%) reported that they did not wear a mask when leaving their homes. However, a slight majority (53.3%) believed that wearing medical masks can prevent infection. This also shows poor practices among the study group toward COVID-19.

DISCUSSION

The study set out to find out the knowledge level of journalists in Abuja on COVID-19 and if any demographic

variables would impact on their knowledge, attitudes and practices. It was necessary to undertake this study because the World Health Organization has advised all countries to take actions to mitigate the infection levels of the pandemic. Countries have therefore instituted protocols to guide behavior away from infection (Saqlain M. et al, 2020). To achieve this objective, the response of governments needs to be passed to the population through various media (Shrestha, R et al, 2020) which was the objective of this study. Among the study population, there was a good knowledge of the issues surrounding COVID-19. Respondents’ average score on knowledge was 87.61% which showed a good knowledge of the causes, management and prevention of the pandemic. This is slightly lower but not significantly different from the 90% knowledge level attained in the Chinese study by Zhong, 2020. This may be attributable to the fact that many of the respondents were individuals who worked in the media space and who can be said to have good exposure to a plethora of information sources which they then pass to the reading public. Due to the fact that the pandemic is relatively new, a good knowledge of its basic characteristics, signs and symptoms, possible transmission pathways, origin and evolution, as well as its chemotherapeutic options is important (Deng, 2020). Since the knowledge value was positive in the study it is plausible to assume that journalists in Abuja are most likely going to present factual information to their readers/listeners which will counter a lot of the misinformation available in the public space. Personal attitudes to the pandemic including its prevention protocols and long term capacity to eradicate it were also measured in the study. On the two attitudinal questions, there was a high level of agreement (96.77%) on the fact that the disease will eventually be eradicated. In another measure, 93.55% agreed that Nigeria will eventually win the battle against the disease. This optimism is an encouraging sign that in the public awareness reports of the journalists, they are most likely going to encourage the public to obey the rules and regulations put in place by the government and public health institutions to stem the spread of the virus. In the area of practice, most of the respondents reported that they were not following the necessary protocols for avoiding COVID-19. While the virus was still spreading, respondents in our study group were still going to crowded environments like markets and worship places. This is quite displeasing as it has been shown that worship places were mostly responsible for the spread of the virus in countries like Iran (Zamirirad, 2020) and South Korea (Wildman, 2020). However, the study found out that an equally proportionate number of respondents were not wearing face masks as

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advised by health institutions. This was a very surprising aspect of the study as it is expected the respondents will know that wearing masks, as recommended by the World Health Organization and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control is a preventive measure. Two reasons may probably account for this strange practice. The first is that at the beginning of the spread of the virus, the wearing of face masks didn’t seem to go down well with the local Nigerian population. Subsequently, most people did not see it as a mandatory practice in their everyday activities. Secondly, as at the period of this study, the pandemic was still at the early stages of its incubation in Nigeria. Indeed, less than 1000 persons had been infected with COVID-19. In the circumstance, public health advisory was just beginning to be taken seriously by the population. In trying to understand if knowledge was related to attitudes and practices, the study returned a positive link between the variables of knowledge and attitudes. This is in agreement with studies done elsewhere on the correlation between knowledge and attitudes (Azlan, 2020; Al-Hanawi, 2020; Zhong, 2020). Unfortunately, knowledge did not seem to influence practices in this study. It was found out that a good knowledge of the pandemic did not automatically translate into prevention practices. A slightly similar situation was reported in the study by Azlan (2020) where it was found that the wearing of face masks was not very common in Malaysia. There thus seems to be a lot of ground to be covered in urging the study group and the general population to adhere to public health protocol as advised by relevant authorities.

CONCLUSION There have been many myths and fake assumptions regarding the spread and treatment of COVID-19 around the world. In most of the developing world and especially in Nigeria, word of mouth is still a prevalent means of communication. In the circumstance, these myths are taken as true and tend to stifle factual information. This study, as with others that deal with the connection between knowledge and behavior, has shown that a good knowledge base is important for attitudes and practices. It is, therefore, necessary that a robust public information protocol should be put in place by the Nigerian government and its various health institutions to enlighten and educate the people on how to manage issues pertaining to the pandemic. In the same vein, it is also suggested that a multi-platform information system using all traditional, non-traditional and new (social) media should be deployed in educating the populace about the pandemic. While traditional and new (social) media platforms are easily identifiable, non-traditional media in Nigeria may include the services of town-criers; town-hall meetings with kings and chiefs, as well as story-telling sessions in villages. The short- and long-term effects of the pandemic are still developing but it is already clear that the economies of the developing world will be hard hit. Governments already struggling to meet the basic needs of the people will be further challenged to care for the poor and vulnerable. Mitigation actions should be spearheaded by governments and health institutions while journalists propagate these to steam the pandemic. In the final analysis however, such actions will require the support of all stakeholders to ensure that the social, political and economic effects of the pandemic do not overwhelm the already weak economy of a developing country like Nigeria.

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Enendu and Jimba 91 Table 1 – Questionnaire on Knowledge base, Attitudes and Practices towards COVID-19#

Question Options

Demographics D.1 – What is your age ---------------------- D.2 – Which is your gender Male; Female; Bi-sexual D.3 – What is your marital status Single; Married; Divorced D.4 – What is your highest level of education 1st degree/HND; Masters; Ph.D D.5 – Years as a practicing journalist ------------------------ Knowledge Base K.1 – The main clinical symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, fatigue,

dry cough and sneezing True; False; I don’t know K.2 – Unlike the common cold, stuffy nose, runny nose and sneezing

are less common in persons infected with the COVID-19 virus True; False; I don’t know K.3 – There currently is no effective cure for COVID-19, but early

symptomatic and supportive treatment can help most patients recover from the infection True; False; I don’t know

K.4 – Not all persons with COVID-19 will develop to severe cases. Only those who are elderly, have chronic illnesses, and are obese are more likely to be severe cases True; False; I don’t know

K.5 – Eating bush meat or contacting pets such as dogs and cats would result in infection by the COVID-19 virus True; False; I don’t know

K.6 – Persons with COVID-19 cannot infect the virus to others when a fever is not present True; False; I don’t know

K.7 – The COVID-19 virus spreads via respiratory droplets of infected individuals True; False; I don’t know

K.8 – Ordinary residents can wear general medical masks to prevent infection by the Covid-19 virus True; False; I don’t know

K.9 – It is not necessary for children and young adults to take measures to prevent the infection by COVID-19 virus True; False; I don’t know

K.10 – To prevent infection by COVID-19, individuals should avoid going to crowded places such as weddings, parties, conferences, bus stations and avoid taking public transportation True; False; I don’t know

K.11 – Isolation and treatment of people who are infected with the COVID-19 virus are effective ways to reduce the spread of the virus True; False; I don’t know

K.12 – People who have contact with someone infected with COVID-19 virus should be immediately isolated in a proper place. In general, the observation period is 14 days True; False; I don’t know

Attitudes A.1 – Do you agree that COVID-19 will finally be successfully controlled? Agree; Disagree; I don’t know A.2 – Do you have confidence that Nigeria can win the battle against

Covid-19 Virus Yes; No Practices P.1 – In recent days, have you gone to a crowded place like a

Church or Mosque? Yes; No P.2 – In recent days, have you worn a mask when leaving home? Yes; No P.3 – How often do you wash your hands with soap and running water? Always; Sometimes; Rarely ________________________________________________________________________________________ Key: D=Demography; K=Knowledge; A=Attitude; P=Practice #Questionnaire adapted from - Zhong, B; Luo, W; Li, H et al (2020)

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Characteristics No. of Respondents Percentage %

Age 18 – 24 1 3.3 25 – 34 12 40.0 35 – 44 13 43.3 45 – 54 4 13.3 Gender Male 10 33.3 Female 20 66.7 Marital Status Single 18 60.0 Married 9 30.0 Divorced 3 10.0 Education First Degree/Higher Diploma 20 66.7 Masters’ Degree 9 30.0 Doctorate 1 3.3 Years of Practice 0 – 5 11 36.7 6 – 10 10 33.3 11 – 15 8 26.7 16 – 20 1 3.3 Table 3: Logistic Regression Effect/Impact of some demographic variables on practices (In recent days, have you worn a mask when leaving home?).

Variables Dy/Dx Standard error Z-value P>|Z|

Age -.4932106** .22722 -2.17 0.030

Gender -.2447708 .27927 -0.88 0.381

Marital Status -.1724252 .17364 -0.99 0.321

Educational level -.1861249 .11639 -1.60 0.110

Years of Experience Likelihood

.3313793** .16027 -15.893406

2.07 0.039

LR Chi-square (5) 7.43

p>Chi-square 0.0709

Pseudo R-Square 0.2332

** significant at 5% level of probability Table 4: Logistic Regression Showing the Effect/Impact of some demographic variables on practices (How often do you wash your hands with soap and running water?).

Variables Dy/Dx Standard error Z-value P>|Z|

Age .0969866** .11849 0.82 0.014

Gender -.0241715 .03216 -0.75 0.452

Marital Status -.0369375 .034 -1.09 0.277

Educational level -.0196755 .01892 -1.04 0.298

Years of experience Likelihood

-.0455768 .06031 -6.883382

-0.76 0.450

LR Chi-square (5) 9.56

p>Chi-square 0.0886

Pseudo R-Square 0.4158

** significant at 5% level of probability

COVID-19: Knowledge Base, Attitudes and Practices among Practising Journalists in Abuja, Nigeria

Enendu and Jimba 93 Table 5: Knowledge Base and Attitudes of the Journalists towards COVID-19

Variable Frequency Percentage (%)

Knowledge K1 True I don’t Know K2 False True I don’t Know K3 True K4 False True I don’t Know K5 False True I don’t Know K6 False I don’t know K7 False True K8 False True I don’t Know K9 False True I don’t Know K10 True K11 True K12 True Attitude A1 Agree I don’t know A2 No yes Practices P1 No Yes P2 No Yes P3 Always Sometimes

28 2 5 19 6 30 5 23 2 24 2 4 28 2 2 28 13 16 1 26 3 1 30 30 30 29 1 1 29 1 29 16 14 26 4

93.3 6.7 16.7 63.3 20.0 100.0 16.7 76.7 6.7 80.0 6.7 13.3 93.3 6.7 6.7 93.3 43.3 53.3 3.3 86.7 10.0 3.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 96.7 3.3 3.3 96.7 3.3 96.7 53.3 46.7 86.7 13.3

COVID-19: Knowledge Base, Attitudes and Practices among Practising Journalists in Abuja, Nigeria

Int. J. J.Mass Comm. 94 Table 6: Correlation between Knowledge and attitude variables

Variables A.1 A.2

Knowledge

K1

Correlation coefficient -.050 -.071

Sig(2-tailed) .795 .780

K2

Correlation coefficient .244 -.203

Sig(2-tailed) .194 .281

K4

Correlation coefficient .337* .169

Sig(2-tailed) .067 .373

K5 .050 -.414**

Correlation coefficient .795 .010

Sig(2-tailed)

K7

Correlation coefficient -.050 .464**

Sig(2-tailed) .795 .010

K8

Correlation coefficient .199 .018

Sig(2-tailed) .293 .925

K9

Correlation coefficient .062 -.356*

Sig(2-tailed) .745 .053

**, *. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 and 0.1 level (2-tailed). Table 7: Correlation between knowledge and practice variables

Variables P.1 P.2 P.3

Knowledge

K1

Correlation coefficient .050 -.081 -.105

Sig(2-tailed) .795 .925 .581

K2

Correlation coefficient -.244 .157 .109

Sig(2-tailed) K4

.194 .407 .568

Correlation coefficient .102 .042 -.216

Sig(2-tailed) .590 .825 .251

K5

Correlation coefficient -.050 .018 .105

Sig(2-tailed) .794 .925 .581

K7

Correlation coefficient .050 -.286 -.105

Sig(2-tailed) .795 .126 .581

K8

Correlation coefficient .174 .473** -.178

Sig(2-tailed) .925 .008 .368

K9

Correlation coefficient -.062 -.089 -.196

Sig(2-tailed) .745 .640 .299

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

COVID-19: Knowledge Base, Attitudes and Practices among Practising Journalists in Abuja, Nigeria

Enendu and Jimba 95

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Accepted 27 July 2020 Citation: Enendu CO, Jimba SW (2020). COVID-19: Knowledge Base, Attitudes and Practices among Practising Journalists in Abuja, Nigeria. International Journal of Journalism and Mass Communication, 6(1): 084-96.

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