Stakeholders’ assessment of information management of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test results and the controversies about Covid-19 infection figures in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

Public health communication and information management entails presenting health information in an ethical manner that enhances public trust and makes public health intervention acceptable to the populace. It is against this backdrop that this study investigated stakeholders’ assessment of the controversies between the Akwa Ibom State government and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) following Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test results released by NCDC on the infection figures in Akwa Ibom State in April 2020. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design where a sample of 357 respondents were purposively selected from a population of 5,670 health professionals and media personnel using Philip Meyer’s guide. The research objectives included finding out whether the disagreement between NCDC and the Akwa Ibom State government had heightened the uncertainty and fear among citizens concerning COVID-19 pandemic; whether the controversies had cast doubt on the sincerity and competence of Nigerian government on the handling of the pandemic. Findings revealed that 89.4 % of the respondents agreed that the disagreement had aggravated the uncertainty and fear about the pandemic. A total of 74.2% of the respondents noted that the controversies caused them to doubt the sincerity and competence of the government functionaries in handling COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Based on these findings, the study concluded that many Nigerians doubted the scientific information given to them by the government functionaries. Hence, the study recommended strict adherence to professional handling of health information to avoid unnecessary controversy capable of aggravating misinformation and suspicious between healthcare givers and the populace.