Knowledge and Risk Perception of the Novel Coronavirus Disease among Adult Population in Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly infectious disease declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The risks of getting infected with the novel coronavirus in Nigeria is high as evident by the increase in the daily number of confirmed cases. Objective: The objectives of this study were to assess the knowledge and risk perception of adult Nigerian population regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic. Methods: We conducted an online cross-sectional survey in which five hundred and ten (510) adult participants consented and filled the questionnaire. The questionnaire is divided in to four sections: the first part was directed at the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, the second was dedicated to the assessment of knowledge, the third part assessed risk perception and the fourth section assessed preventive measures. Results: Almost all of the participants (95.9%) claimed to be aware of COVID-19 with majority through the traditional media (55.3%), and social media (41%) while only a small percentage (3.7%) gained the awareness through health officials. Knowledge of COVID-19 was significantly poor among participants with lower level of formal education, (p=0.0001). participants with higher income were found to have a good knowledge of the disease (p<0.00001). being a health worker was not associated with good knowledge of COVID-19 (p=0.00001). Risk perception was significantly high among the females (p=0.044), young adult participants (p=0.039) and healthcare workers (p=0.001). Preventive measures like avoiding eating out (p=0.001) and traveling to high risk areas (p=0.017), wearing face mask (p=0.01) and eating balanced diet (p=0.014) were statistically significant across gender. Conclusion: In general, participants were aware of COVID-19 with a low proportion having a good knowledge about the disease and preventive measures. The findings from this online survey could guide information campaigns by public health authorities, clinicians, and the media. Keywords: Knowledge; Risk perception; Public health; Pandemic; COVID-19; Nigeria.