Covid-19 Awareness and Prevention Among Health Information Management Students in Nigeria.

Abstract

This study examines COVID-19 awareness and prevention among Health Information Management Students in Nigeria. The study investigated sources of information to students about COVID-19 as well as students’ knowledge about the signs and symptoms of COVID-19. This is quantitative research which employed the descriptive survey design. A total of 630 students of Health Information Management Programme were recruited into the current study through their various whatsapp platforms. Instrument for data collection was developed using an online Google form which was divided into four main parts based on the formulated objectives and research questions. The instrument was administered through the online platform and responses were monitored for two months before proceeding to data analysis. The collected data was analyzed descriptively using frequency counts and percentage distribution, as well as relative importance index. Relative importance index helps to rank the criteria according to their relative importance. Findings revealed the majority 97.5% of the respondents heard about COVID-19 through mass and social media, 91.4% of the respondents heard about COVID-19 through health workers, 90.2% others through government announcement, 87.6% others learnt about COVID-19 through the internet. The results indicate that students believed that shortness of breath was a significant sign and symptom (RII = 0.92), along with fever (RII = 0.91), sneezing (RII = 0.911), and sore throat (RII = 0.89), cough (RII = 0.88), weariness (RII = 0.85), and muscle discomfort (RII = 0.76) are a few more. The study came to the conclusion that even if the students are taught about the disease's indications and symptoms as well as the preventative steps to take, the disease still spreads among them. Many of the students still struggle to adhere properly to the accepted preventive recommendations. Therefore, in order to prevent the pandemic from spreading in schools, the administrators of health information management programs must take every action at their disposal.