KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES TO COVID-19 IN PERI-URBAN COMMUNITY OF BAMAKO, MALI

Résumé

ABSTRACT Introduction Since the detection of COVID-19 in March, 2020 in Mali, the capital city of Bamako remains the epicenter and has recorded four waves of SARSCov-19 infection. Unawareness and misinformation may contribute to the noncompliance of the communities to the country recommended preventive measures. Objective The objective of this study is to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices to COVID-19 in peri-urban neighborhoods of Bamako, where the highest number cases in the country have been recorded. Methodology This cross-sectional study was conducted two months after the first wave of COVID-19 epidemic in August 2020. Data were collected with a semi-structured questionnaire from 185 adult respondents selected using a systematic sampling technique. Frequency analysis and chi-square test were used, R statistical software was used for data analysis in this study. Results Only 17,3% of respondents had a good knowledge of COVID-19 preventive measures. Among them, 91,89% knew that washing hands with soap could prevent the disease, but nearly 80,0% did not know that avoiding to touch the mouth, nose, and eyes without washing hands was a preventive measure. Only 43,24% of respondents knew that coughing into the hollow of the elbow could reduce the risk of contamination from a third party. Also, age, occupation, level of education, source of information, and having a member of the community affected by COVID-19 were associated with knowledge level of preventive measures. Keywords: COVID-19, Clinical trial, Prevention, Knowledge Level