Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Populations Towards Barrier and Preventive Measures Against COVID-19 in Two Cities in Cameroon

Abstract

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Since the first reported case in sub Saharan Africa, countries have struggled to respond to the pandemic despite all the barrier measures and preventions strategies put in place; amongst them, Cameroon is characterized by a large amount of contamination and an increase in death rates. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) of the Cameroonian population on barrier and preventive measures against COVID-19; the first undertaken in the cities of Douala and Bangangte since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 777 residents in the Littoral (Douala) and in the West (Bangante) regions of Cameroon from a structured, pre-tested and self-administered questionnaire (according to WHO guidelines). Data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 18.0 software. For p=0.05, the difference was statistically significant. Out of 777 participants, 67.7% (n=526) were from Douala and 32.3% (n=251) from Bangangte. Seventy percent (70%) of our participants were aware of the main preventive measures against COVID-19 taken by the Cameroonian government. The most used preventive method was the practice of hand hygiene (88.9%); followed by social distancing (87.2%), respiratory hygiene (75.8%), and self-confinement (85.3%). The majority of our participants had a positive attitude towards hand hygiene (81.6%) and wearing a face mask (84.7%). About 52.9% wore a face mask occasionally, 66.67% always washed their hands, 53.1% always used a hand sanitizer to disinfect their hands and 65,4% regularly self-confined themselves homes. Improving behaviors / attitudes and practices remain a major challenge for our populations. It is important to integrate the community in decision-making and increase awareness among our populations. Further studies are required to assess the impact of strategies undertaken by the decision makers, to roll out the COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon.