Corona Virus (COVID-19) Pandemic Knowledge, Perceptions and Practices among Nigerian Academic Communities

https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v2i4.587
Published: Aug 9, 2022

Abstract:

Purpose: This study assesses Nigerian academic communities’ (NAC) knowledge, perception, and practices regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research Methodology: Online snowball sampling technique with 5-point Likert scale online questionnaire was used to assess NAC knowledge, perception, and practices amidst coronavirus pandemic. About 368 participants comprised of academic and non-academic staff from north central geopolitical zone of Nigeria participated in the study. Responses were analysed using the SPSS.

Result: NAC gathered, shared, and updated their knowledge about COVID-19 mostly through social media. Participants professed social media as the most effective platform for education and updates on COVID-19 compared to the conventional media and government sources. Despite that, participants were discovered to have slight issues in differentiating real news from fake ones. The participants reasonably practised precautionary measures as directed by the government and centre for disease control.

Limitations: This study is limited to academic environment while COVID-19 affects all sundries and sectors of the economy respectively.

Contribution: This study contributes to the knowledge and insight of COVID-19 among NAC and suggests means of managing the virus to avoid further spread.

Keywords:
1. Coronavirus
2. COVID-19
3. Pandemic
4. Nigerian Academic Communities
5. Perception
Authors:
1 . Aliyu Olugbenga Yusuf
Department of Library and Information Science, University of Malaya
2 . Mazeedat Adeola Olajide-Yusuf
Pharmacist and Independent Researcher, Nigeria
3 . Muili Folaranmi Olajide
Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai, Nigeria
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How to Cite
Yusuf, A. O., Olajide-Yusuf, M. A., & Olajide, M. F. . (2022). Corona Virus (COVID-19) Pandemic Knowledge, Perceptions and Practices among Nigerian Academic Communities. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 2(4), 295–309. https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v2i4.587
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Issue & Section
Vol. 2 No. 4 (2022): August
Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

References

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    Bavel, J. V., Baicker, K., Boggio, P. S., Capraro, V., Cichocka, A., Cikara, M., . . . Druckman, J. (2020). Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nature Human Behaviour, 4 (5), 460–471.

    Caratiquit, K., & Pablo, R. (2021). Exploring the practices of secondary school teachers in preparing for classroom observation amidst the new normal of education. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education.

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    Chu, D. K., Akl, E. A., Duda, S., Solo, K., Yaacoub, S., Schünemann, H. J., Loeb, M. (2020). Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The lancet, 395(10242), 1973-1987.

    Depoux, A., Martin, S., Karafillakis, E., Preet, R., Wilder-Smith, A., & Larson, H. (2020). The pandemic of social media panic travels faster than the COVID-19 outbreak (Vol. 27, pp. taaa031): Oxford University Press.

    Gao, J., Zheng, P., Jia, Y., Chen, H., Mao, Y., Chen, S., Dai, J. (2020). Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak. Plos one, 15(4), e0231924.

    Gibson, L. A., & Sodeman, W. A. (2014). Millennials and technology: Addressing the communication gap in education and practice. Organization Development Journal, 32(4), 63-75.

    Greenhow, C., & Askari, E. (2017). Learning and teaching with social network sites: A decade of research in K-12 related education. Education and Information Technologies, 22(2), 623-645.

    Gulati, G., & Kelly, B. D. (2020). Physician suicide and the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupational Medicine, 70(7), 514-514.

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    Khader, Y., Al Nsour, M., Al-Batayneh, O. B., Saadeh, R., Bashier, H., Alfaqih, M., & Al-Azzam, S. (2020). Dentists’ awareness, perception, and attitude regarding COVID-19 and infection control: cross-sectional study among Jordanian dentists. JMIR public health and surveillance, 6(2), e18798.

    Korytkowski, M., Antinori-Lent, K., Drincic, A., Hirsch, I. B., McDonnell, M. E., Rushakoff, R., & Muniyappa, R. (2020). A pragmatic approach to inpatient diabetes management during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 105(9), 3076-3087.

    Manca, S., & Ranieri, M. (2016). Facebook and the others. Potentials and obstacles of social media for teaching in higher education. Computers & Education, 95, 216-230.

    Morens, D. M., & Taubenberger, J. K. (2018). The mother of all pandemics is 100 years old (and going strong)! American journal of public health, 108(11), 1449-1454.

    Mwesigwa, D. (2021). Consequence of Covid-19 lockdown on household food security: Voices from Hoima City, Uganda. Voices from Hoima.

    Ohadike, D. C. (1991). Diffusion and physiological responses to the influenza pandemic of 1918–19 in Nigeria. Social Science & Medicine, 32(12), 1393-1399.

    Pennycook, G., McPhetres, J., Zhang, Y., Lu, J. G., & Rand, D. G. (2020). Fighting COVID-19 misinformation on social media: Experimental evidence for a scalable accuracy-nudge intervention. Psychological science, 31(7), 770-780.

    Plancher, K., Shanmugam, J. P., & Petterson, S. C. (2020). The changing face of orthopaedic education: searching for the new reality after COVID-19. Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2(4), 295–298.

    Roy, D., Tripathy, S., Kar, S. K., Sharma, N., Verma, S. K., & Kaushal, V. (2020). Study of knowledge, attitude, anxiety & perceived mental healthcare need in Indian population during COVID-19 pandemic. Asian journal of psychiatry, 51, 102083.

    Uddin, S., Abdullah, A., Banerjee, S., Albert, A., & Jaselskis, E. (2021). Early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the United States construction industry. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4).

    Vilendrer, S., Patel, B., Chadwick, W., Hwa, M., Asch, S., Pageler, N., Sharp, C. (2020). Rapid deployment of inpatient telemedicine in response to COVID-19 across three health systems. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 27(7), 1102-1109.

    Viner, R. M., Russell, S. J., Croker, H., Packer, J., Ward, J., Stansfield, C., Booy, R. (2020). School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including COVID-19: a rapid systematic review. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(5), 397-404.

    Yusuf, A. O., Yerima, B., & Hussain, A. D. (2019). Social Network Software (SNS) enabler for fake news: peace education as panacea through academic libraries. University of Ibadan-Journal of Library and Information Science (UI-JLIS), 2(2), 111–120.

    Zhong, B.-L., Luo, W., Li, H.-M., Zhang, Q.-Q., Liu, X.-G., Li, W.-T., & Li, Y. (2020). Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey. International journal of biological sciences, 16(10), 1745.

  1. Asadullah, A., Yerima, B., & Aliyu, Y. (2014). The ethics of information and communication technology: An Islamic overview. International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Research, 4(2).
  2. Bavel, J. V., Baicker, K., Boggio, P. S., Capraro, V., Cichocka, A., Cikara, M., . . . Druckman, J. (2020). Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nature Human Behaviour, 4 (5), 460–471.
  3. Caratiquit, K., & Pablo, R. (2021). Exploring the practices of secondary school teachers in preparing for classroom observation amidst the new normal of education. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education.
  4. Carsetti, R., Quintarelli, C., Quinti, I., Mortari, E. P., Zumla, A., Ippolito, G., & Locatelli, F. (2020). The immune system of children: the key to understanding SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility? The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(6), 414-416.
  5. Cauchemez, S., Ferguson, N. M., Wachtel, C., Tegnell, A., Saour, G., Duncan, B., & Nicoll, A. (2009). Closure of schools during an influenza pandemic. The Lancet infectious diseases, 9(8), 473-481.
  6. Chau, N. V. V., Thanh Lam, V., Thanh Dung, N., Yen, L. M., Minh, N. N. Q., Hung, L. M., . . . Nguyet, L. A. (2020). The natural history and transmission potential of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Clinical Infectious Diseases.
  7. Clement, J., Neild, G. H., Maes, P., Leirs, H., Matthys, P., & Rans, M. Van. (2007). Pandemic nfluenza school closure policies. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 13(2)
  8. Chen, E., Lerman, K., & Ferrara, E. (2020). Tracking social media discourse about the covid-19 pandemic: Development of a public coronavirus twitter data set. JMIR public health and surveillance, 6(2), e19273.
  9. Choi, D.-H., Yoo, W., Noh, G.-Y., & Park, K. (2017). The impact of social media on risk perceptions during the MERS outbreak in South Korea. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 422-431.
  10. Chu, D. K., Akl, E. A., Duda, S., Solo, K., Yaacoub, S., Schünemann, H. J., Loeb, M. (2020). Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The lancet, 395(10242), 1973-1987.
  11. Depoux, A., Martin, S., Karafillakis, E., Preet, R., Wilder-Smith, A., & Larson, H. (2020). The pandemic of social media panic travels faster than the COVID-19 outbreak (Vol. 27, pp. taaa031): Oxford University Press.
  12. Gao, J., Zheng, P., Jia, Y., Chen, H., Mao, Y., Chen, S., Dai, J. (2020). Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak. Plos one, 15(4), e0231924.
  13. Gibson, L. A., & Sodeman, W. A. (2014). Millennials and technology: Addressing the communication gap in education and practice. Organization Development Journal, 32(4), 63-75.
  14. Greenhow, C., & Askari, E. (2017). Learning and teaching with social network sites: A decade of research in K-12 related education. Education and Information Technologies, 22(2), 623-645.
  15. Gulati, G., & Kelly, B. D. (2020). Physician suicide and the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupational Medicine, 70(7), 514-514.
  16. Jordan, R. E., Adab, P., & Cheng, K. (2020). Covid-19: risk factors for severe disease and death (Vol. 368): British Medical Journal Publishing Group.
  17. Khader, Y., Al Nsour, M., Al-Batayneh, O. B., Saadeh, R., Bashier, H., Alfaqih, M., & Al-Azzam, S. (2020). Dentists’ awareness, perception, and attitude regarding COVID-19 and infection control: cross-sectional study among Jordanian dentists. JMIR public health and surveillance, 6(2), e18798.
  18. Korytkowski, M., Antinori-Lent, K., Drincic, A., Hirsch, I. B., McDonnell, M. E., Rushakoff, R., & Muniyappa, R. (2020). A pragmatic approach to inpatient diabetes management during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 105(9), 3076-3087.
  19. Manca, S., & Ranieri, M. (2016). Facebook and the others. Potentials and obstacles of social media for teaching in higher education. Computers & Education, 95, 216-230.
  20. Morens, D. M., & Taubenberger, J. K. (2018). The mother of all pandemics is 100 years old (and going strong)! American journal of public health, 108(11), 1449-1454.
  21. Mwesigwa, D. (2021). Consequence of Covid-19 lockdown on household food security: Voices from Hoima City, Uganda. Voices from Hoima.
  22. Ohadike, D. C. (1991). Diffusion and physiological responses to the influenza pandemic of 1918–19 in Nigeria. Social Science & Medicine, 32(12), 1393-1399.
  23. Pennycook, G., McPhetres, J., Zhang, Y., Lu, J. G., & Rand, D. G. (2020). Fighting COVID-19 misinformation on social media: Experimental evidence for a scalable accuracy-nudge intervention. Psychological science, 31(7), 770-780.
  24. Plancher, K., Shanmugam, J. P., & Petterson, S. C. (2020). The changing face of orthopaedic education: searching for the new reality after COVID-19. Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2(4), 295–298.
  25. Roy, D., Tripathy, S., Kar, S. K., Sharma, N., Verma, S. K., & Kaushal, V. (2020). Study of knowledge, attitude, anxiety & perceived mental healthcare need in Indian population during COVID-19 pandemic. Asian journal of psychiatry, 51, 102083.
  26. Uddin, S., Abdullah, A., Banerjee, S., Albert, A., & Jaselskis, E. (2021). Early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the United States construction industry. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4).
  27. Vilendrer, S., Patel, B., Chadwick, W., Hwa, M., Asch, S., Pageler, N., Sharp, C. (2020). Rapid deployment of inpatient telemedicine in response to COVID-19 across three health systems. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 27(7), 1102-1109.
  28. Viner, R. M., Russell, S. J., Croker, H., Packer, J., Ward, J., Stansfield, C., Booy, R. (2020). School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including COVID-19: a rapid systematic review. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(5), 397-404.
  29. Yusuf, A. O., Yerima, B., & Hussain, A. D. (2019). Social Network Software (SNS) enabler for fake news: peace education as panacea through academic libraries. University of Ibadan-Journal of Library and Information Science (UI-JLIS), 2(2), 111–120.
  30. Zhong, B.-L., Luo, W., Li, H.-M., Zhang, Q.-Q., Liu, X.-G., Li, W.-T., & Li, Y. (2020). Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey. International journal of biological sciences, 16(10), 1745.