Knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19 among people living with HIV/AIDS attending State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: in order to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19, people must have adequate knowledge, a positive attitude, and practice basic preventive procedures towards the disease. This study aims to determine the KAP towards COVID-19 among PLHIV undergoing clinical-outpatient follow-up at SSHM. Methods: a hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted to determine knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards COVID-19 among 344 participants, who were selected using a simple random sampling technique from 4th January to 25th February 2022. A pretested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Results were summarized in frequencies and percentages. The Chi-square test was used to determine factors influencing KAP. Results: among the 344 participants that were enrolled in the study, adequate knowledge and positive attitude scores (≥75 correct answers) towards COVID-19 were reported in 72.4% and 62.5% of the participants, respectively. Most of the respondents (82%) were not practicing basic preventive procedures against COVID-19. Knowledge and attitude scores were significantly associated (p<0.05) with gender, age, marital status and educational status, while practice score was significantly associated (p<0.05) with gender, marital status, educational status, employment status and time since HIV diagnosis. There was a moderate positive correlation (r=0.60) between knowledge and attitude scores, while there was a low positive correlation (r=0.23) between knowledge and practice scores and attitude and practice scores, respectively. Conclusion: people living with HIV have adequate knowledge, a positive attitude and poor practice towards COVID-19. Therefore, in order to mitigate coronavirus infection among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), health talks at ART service delivery points should incorporate information on COVID-19 preventative strategies.