Abstract

Covid 19 pandemic has caused unprecedented human health consequences and deaths.it is well recognized that containing covid 19 successfully determined by how barrier measures of individuals are related to their knowledge, attitude and practice. This study will evaluate the socio cultural determinants of covid 19 prevention among community health workers in Fako Division.

Community based descriptive cross sectional study, supplemented with qualitative data will be conducted in the Fako health districts. A total of 384 community health workers who gave their consent will be randomly included in the study. A multistage sampling technique will be used to recruit the participants. The instruments used for data collection will be questionnaires and interview guide. The questionnaire shall be coded and the responses entered into a spreadsheet by the use of Microsoft excel version 2016. Data shall be analyzed using SPSS version 26. Frequency tables, bar charts will be used for categorical variables. Multivariate analysis will be used for continuous variables.

The knowledge attitude and practice of CHW shall be determined. Perceived benefits of community health workers services shall be identified. Many factors affecting the practice of covid 19, preventive measures in the study areas such as lack of resources, necessary items like PPE, lack of money and less time. Necessary steps are required to mitigate the spread of covid 19 through the practice of covid 19 barrier measures. The government of Cameroon needs to evaluate the impact of these measures on the practices, thus strict observation of these measures maybe the best option for Cameroon to control the covid 19 pandemic. The results of this study will be presented and discussed according to the research objectives, using bar charts tables, pie charts, summaries etc.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Covid-19 also known as Coronavirus disease 2019, is a contagious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019 (1)

Covid-19 which is an acute respiratory illness in humans caused by a coronavirus, capable of producing severe symptoms and some cases of death, especially in older people and those with underlying health conditions. Emerging and reemerging pathogens are global challenges for public health [1]. Corona viruses are enveloped RNA viruses that are distributed broadly among humans, other mammals, and birds and causes respiratory, enteric, hepatic, and neurologic diseases [3, 4]. Given the high prevalence and wide distribution of corona viruses, the large genetic diversity and frequent recombination of their genomes, and increasing human–animal interface activities, novel corona viruses are likely to emerge periodically in humans owing to frequent cross-species infections and occasional spillover events [5,6,7].

In late December 2019, several local health facilities reported clusters of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause that were epidemiologically linked to a seafood and wet animal wholesale market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China [8]. In January 2020, the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China spread progressively to other countries [9, 10], with WHO declaring it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern [11].

The first case in Africa was identified in Egypt on the 14 February 2020, the second case in Algeria on the 17 of February 2020, then followed by South Africa, Morocco, and others. Since then, a total of 52 countries have reported cases. Initially, mainly confined to capital cities, a significant number of countries in Africa are now reporting cases in multiple provinces [12].

The first case declared in Cameroon on 6 March 2020, was a French national who arrived the airport of the capital, Yaoundé. Additional cases were recorded in Douala and other regions of the country. By 30 April 2020, there were 2069 confirmed cases and 61 deaths registered (Cameroon Prime minister, 2020). With the passage of time, new cases have been on the rise, currently making Cameroon one of the African countries most affected by the pandemic[13].

Health workers are at the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak response and as such are exposed to hazards that put them at risk of infection [14]. Community health workers are one of the apex part of the health system. They are the pioneer for the prevention, promotion, and curative activities at the community level. So, their knowledge and attitude play a pivotal role for preventing COVID-19 at the community level and this study aims to find out the knowledge and attitude on preventive practice of novel coronavirus among community health workers in Fako division.

1.2 Statement Of The Problem

Coronavirus being a global pandemic and has killed many individuals, including health care professionals. It caused stress on the health care system of all the countries. It has also resulted in unprecedented psychological and economic implications, placing cities under lockdown. Preventive measures has proven effective to reduce the spread of the disease. The community health workers have as an obligation to sensitize the community on the preventive measures put in place. There are still cases of covid-19 in the treatment centers. This maybe because the community health workers do not have the requisites knowledge on preventive measures of Covid-19.  It is therefore necessary to carry out research in order to test the CHWs ability on how to prevent covid-19.

The rapid spread of this virus and its pandemic nature may be more devastating, the Cameroon culture is generally characterized by tight family relations with people making several contact per day. Person to person transmission (community spread* is currently ongoing in the country making it necessary to control the disease, to avoid its rapid spread throughout the country. The best tool that African countries may use, especially in Cameroon, in order to avoid being infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is to strictly implement barrier measures which have proven their efficiency in other countries like China, where the disease started. To guarantee successful disease control, peoples adherence to Covid 19 barrier measures is essential. This adherence is highly dependent on the populations   knowledge on Covid 19 and its BM such as wearing of face mask, regular hand washing etc. to prevent the spread of this infection in our communities by the Cameroon government.

1.3 Research Questions

1. What is the knowledge of community health workers towards the prevention of COVID-19?
2. What are the attitudes of community health workers towards the prevention of COVID-19?
3. What are the practices of community health workers towards the prevention of COVID-19?
4. What are the associations between socio-demographic characteristics of Covid-19 prevention measures?

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