Practice of COVID-19 Preventive Measures among Young People-TheImportance of Information Provision.

Background: In a period where the world is faced with the COVID-19 pandemic that threatens the core of how we relate and participate in our routine activities, young people, who constitute a significant population are important to reducing the spread of the infection. However, there is little or no information documented about the practice of COVID-19 preventive measures among the younger population. Objective: In this study, we assessed the knowledge, attitudes and compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures among individuals 10-24 years in Nigeria. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study among young people (10-24 years) using a validated questionnaire. Data was collected through a web-based survey using REDCap due to the government-imposed lockdown. Results: The mean age of participants was 17.44.8. All of them were aware of the COVID-19 pandemic and the most common source of information on COVID-19 was social media. A common reason for choice of source of information was ‘convenience’. About 47.8% and 36.0% of the respondents had good knowledge and attitude respectively and 36.8% had good compliance with the prevention and control measures. Adolescents who sought information recently, had good knowledge and attitude, were more likely to comply with COVID-19 preventive and control measures. Conclusion: Findings highlight the need for additional interventions to improve knowledge about COVID-19 among young people. This would contribute towards improving attitudes and compliance to prevention measures among this group.