Assessment of Knowledge and Sources of Information on Lassa Fever Infection among the Undergraduate Students of Ebonyi State University, Nigeria

Autor/inn/en	Umoke, MaryJoy; Umoke, Prince Christian Ifeanachor; Nwalieji, Chioma Adaora; Onwe, Rosemary N.; Nwafor, Ifeanyi Emmanuel; Agbaje, Samson Olaoluwa; Nwimo, Ignatius O.
Titel	Assessment of Knowledge and Sources of Information on Lassa Fever Infection among the Undergraduate Students of Ebonyi State University, Nigeria
Quelle	In: SAGE Open, 11 (2021) 1, (10 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Umoke, MaryJoy) ORCID (Nwalieji, Chioma Adaora) ORCID (Agbaje, Samson Olaoluwa) ORCID (Nwimo, Ignatius O.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2158-2440
DOI	10.1177/21582440211006382
Schlagwörter	Knowledge Level; Information Sources; Communicable Diseases; Disease Control; Prevention; Public Health; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Health Education; Undergraduate Students; Young Adults; Public Colleges; Student Characteristics; Majors (Students); Radio; Television; Mass Media Use; Foreign Countries; Nigeria + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Wissensbasis; Information source; Informationsquelle; Contagious disease; Contagious diseases; Communicable disease; Infektionskrankheit; Prävention; Vorbeugung; Gesundheitswesen; Psychiatrische Symptomatik; Gesundheitsaufklärung; Gesundheitsbildung; Gesundheitserziehung; Young adult; Junger Erwachsener; Fernsehen; Fernsehtechnik; Mediennutzung; Ausland
Abstract	Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease characterized by acute viral hemorrhagic fever, endemic in West Africa including Nigeria. The study assessed the knowledge and sources of information on Lassa fever infection among the undergraduate students of Ebonyi State University, Nigeria. This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted among a sample of 389 students (18 years above). A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed with SPSS (Version 20), and hypotheses were tested at p < 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that the majority of the students had good knowledge of Lassa fever description, 232 (60.75%); the signs and symptoms, 221 (57.9%); mode of transmission, 261 (68.41%); and preventive measures, 291 (76.13%). Radio, 23 (84.6%), and television, 307 (80.4%), were their major sources of information. Age (p = 0.424), sex (p = 0.082), and academic level (p = 0.553) were not significant in the study, while faculty (social sciences; p = 0.000*) was strongly associated with the knowledge of Lassa fever. In conclusion, the overall knowledge of Lassa fever was good among students, though knowledge gaps were observed in the signs and symptoms. We recommend that health education on endemic diseases in the state be made a compulsory course as a general study (GST) in the university. Also, the internet, social media, and campus campaign be further used to educate and sensitize students on the effect of Lassa fever. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01