Awareness and COVID-19 preventive practices among inpatients' caregivers at a mixed COVID -19 treatment hospital in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‑2 was first reported by the World Health Organization in December 2019 and thereafter declared a pandemic. Its emergence affected all spheres of daily life including widespread lockdowns at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic. Several nonpharmacological preventive practices were adopted to curb the spread of the novel  coronavirus amid the initial paucity of supporting scientific data. Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the level of awareness and preventive practices among the family caregivers of the patients admitted to a mixed hospital during the first wave of the COVID‑19 pandemic in Nigeria. Methods to Materials: This study was a self‑administered questionnaire‑based cross‑sectional survey carried out in June 2020 during the lockdown for the first wave of the COVID‑19 pandemic. The study participants were selected by the convenience sampling method. Participants consisted of one hundred family caregivers of the inpatients admitted for various ailments other than COVID‑19 in our hospital. Data on demography, awareness of COVID‑19, and preventive practices were obtained and analysed using IBM SPSS version 20. The results were presented using tables. Categorical data were summarised by frequencies and percentages, whereas continuous data were summarised using means and standard deviations (SDs). Results: The respondents were mainly married young adults (74%) with an age range between 15 and 66 years. The mean age was 37.7 ± 13.9 SD. Sixty‑four percent of the respondents were female, 92% were of the Yoruba ethnic group, and 60% were university graduate. Most family caregivers were first‑degree relatives (86%), and 14% were acquaintances or friend. The findings showed that 98% of the respondents were aware of the COVID‑19 pandemic, and 56% never experienced fear of contracting the disease. Fifty‑eight percent of the respondents observed physical distancing, whereas the remaining 42% practiced normal physical interaction despite the pandemic. Regular handwashing and the use of face masks were the most common nonpharmacological preventive practices. Cloth face masks were the most commonly used. Only 38% of the respondents were aware of the inhospital COVID‑19‑positive patients, and a majority of them got the information through the radio and from discussions among the patients’ relatives. Conclusion: Family caregivers are an integral part of the health‑care system, and females are more involved than males. Regular handwashing and the use of cloth face masks were the most common COVID‑19 nonpharmacological preventive practices among the family caregivers.