Background: Effective communication is critical for mitigating the public health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Objective: This study assesses the source(s) of COVID-19 information among people in Nigeria, as well as the predictors and the perceived accuracy of information from these sources.
Methods: We conducted an online survey of consenting adults residing in Nigeria between April and May 2020 during the lockdown and first wave of COVID-19. The major sources of information about COVID-19 were distilled from 7 potential sources (family and friends, places of worship, health care providers, internet, workplace, traditional media, and public posters/banners). An open-ended question was asked to explore how respondents determined accuracy of information. Statistical analysis was conducted using STATA 15.0 software (StataCorp Texas) with significance placed at P<.05. Approval to conduct this study was obtained from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Health Research Ethics Committee.
Results: A total of 719 respondents completed the survey. Most respondents (n=642, 89.3%) obtained COVID-19-related information from the internet. The majority (n=617, 85.8%) considered their source(s) of information to be accurate, and 32.6% (n=234) depended on only 1 out of the 7 potential sources of COVID-19 information. Respondents earning a monthly income between NGN 70,000-120,000 had lower odds of obtaining COVID-19 information from the internet compared to respondents earning less than NGN 20,000 (odds ratio [OR] 0.49, 95% CI 0.24-0.98). In addition, a significant proportion of respondents sought accurate information from recognized health organizations, such as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.
Conclusions: The internet was the most common source of COVID-19 information, and the population sampled had a relatively high level of perceived accuracy for the COVID-19 information received. Effective communication requires dissemination of information via credible communication channels, as identified from this study. This can be potentially beneficial for risk communication to control the pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19; Nigeria; accuracy; communication; cross-sectional; health information; infodemic; infodemiology; information source; predictor; public health; risk.
©Olufemi Erinoso, Kikelomo Ololade Wright, Samuel Anya, Yetunde Kuyinu, Hussein Abdur-Razzaq, Abiodun Adewuya. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 25.01.2021.