Response of undergraduates to institutional emergency strategies on Ebola virus disease in Kwara State University, Nigeria
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Date
2017-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Behavioral Health www.scopemed.org
Abstract
Background: The challenge of Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak prompted the need for the development and
implementation of strategic alertness and emergency response intervention in prevention and containment of
future threats and epidemics. Objective: This work was designed to assess knowledge, perception, attitude,
behavioral practices, risk vulnerability, and effectiveness of some selected surveillance interventions strategic
responses and measures among undergraduate students in prevention and containment of EVD epidemics. Also
to analyze the associations among root causes, vulnerability, risk factors, mode of spread, symptoms, prevention,
and response patterns. Materials and Methods: The study employed a carefully-structured, closed-ended,
interviewer-administered, paper-based questionnaire designed to capture information on sociodemographic
characteristics, active knowledge on EVD, perception, behavioral attitude and responses from undergraduate
students to selected strategic surveillance and intervention measures toward containment of EVD in Kwara
State University, Nigeria. This is expected to enhance qualitative understanding of perceived misconceptions, and
bottlenecks in relation to EVD root causes, mode of transmission, prevention and control programs and strategies.
Data were entered and analyzed using IBM® SPSS® Statistics version 22. Descriptive statistics were reported
as frequencies and percentages, and presented graphically using bar graphs and pie charts. Data were analyzed
further with Pearson’s Chi-square test to determine associations between variables from which inferences were
drawn and reported at a significance level of P < 0.05. Results: Based on respondents’ general EVD causes
and vulnerability risk factors, handling of corpse (87.3%) was most common, handshake with infected person
(95.8%) was the most common mode of spread while regular hand washing with soap and water remained the
most pronounced preventive measure. Practices of hand washing after toilet use (93.4%) was most common
of the attitude of respondents to EVD, while (38.0%) will relate with EVD survivor. Use of hand sanitizer (83.6%)
was a positive response to on - campus EVD intervention. 188 (88.3%) of the respondents’ agreed that EVD
presents varieties of signs and symptoms, notable among such includes vomiting, diarrhea and dysentery (34.0%);
fever/high body temperature and headache (19.1%); profuse bleeding from nose, mouth and other parts of the
body (17.0%); joint body and muscle pain (10.1%). Students at higher levels of study and those in the Colleges
of Pure and Applied Sciences and Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Kwara State University tended to have
significantly higher knowledge levels at P < 0.05. Conclusion: These findings serve as a prototype in EVD and
other emerging epidemics awareness campaigns and community social mobilization activities, institutional and
community health education and promotion in upholding and sustaining behavioral, cultural, social and ecological
measures and guidelines imperative in guiding evidence-based EVD threat and epidemics knowledge and response
delivery programs and best practices in the local setting, Africa and epidemics prone territories.