Browsing by Author "Tembwe, Horace"

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    Assessment of the Knowledge, Attitudes and Preventive Practice Towards Covid-19 Among People in Blantyre Rural Area
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2022-05-09) Thompson, Chimwemwe; Kanguwo, Blessings; Tonde, Henry; Tembwe, Horace
    TYPE OF STUDY AND STUDY PLACE: This is a qualitative cross sectional study, which will involve structured questionnaires, individual in-depth interviews and direct observation by investigators. The study will be conducted in Blantyre rural areas and specifically Chileka Area. The study will cover Singano and Mdala villages, all located in Chileka. The Problem to be studied is the level of awareness of people living in rural areas about Covid- 19, their attitudes towards the disease and its preventive measures. The research will answer the question “What is the knowledge and attitude among people living in Blantyre rural areas towards Covid-19 and their preventive practices”. 1.2. STUDY OBJECTIVES: The main objective of the study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and preventive practices towards COVID-19 among people in Blantyre rural. The specific objectives are to: 1) explore the level of awareness and knowledge of the people about COVID-19 pandemic, 2) identify the preventive practices that are used by the people in Blantyre rural, 3) assess how the people access information about the COVID-19. 1.3. METHODOLOGY: This study will be conducted in Blantyre rural specifically Chileka area. It is a cross-sectional study and qualitative in nature. Adults residing in rural area will be the target population of the study. Study sample will be identified using the convenient sampling method, the Data about the study will be collected by conducting individual in-depth interviews with the participants, structured questionnaires and observations where people will be observed if they are using COVID-19 preventive measures and informal interviews to probe more. 1.4. DATA MANAGEMENT AND DISSEMINATION: The qualitative data collected will be entered into Microsoft excel, this data will be processed and analyzed into graphs, tables and charts. The research results will be disseminated through oral presentation to the Medicine Department, College of Medicine and the final project report will be submitted to COMREC, Medicine Department, College of Medicine library and academic staff. 1.5. EXPECTED FINDINGS: It is expected that people in rural areas have low levels of knowledge about COVID-19 due to poor access to information about the disease because they live far from reliable sources of information. They also have different attitudes towards the disease with some believing that the disease doesn’t exist and others believe that it’s a sign of 666 Satanism. COVID-19 is regarded as a normal flue in rural areas and people get cured after taking their natural remedies. It is also expected that people in rural areas don’t follow COVID-19 preventive measures as per their beliefs and others due to lack of relevant resources.