Version 1
: Received: 25 June 2020 / Approved: 26 June 2020 / Online: 26 June 2020 (15:44:16 CEST)
How to cite:
Mbiya, B.M.; Djeugoue, S.L.; Kanda, E.L.; Mbuyi, D.K.; Malundu, T.B.; Mushiya, R.C.; Disashi, G.T. Coronavirus-19 in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Public Views, Attitudes, and Beliefs in an Unaffected Area: The Case of the City of Mbujimayi. Preprints2020, 2020060317. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202006.0317.v1
Mbiya, B.M.; Djeugoue, S.L.; Kanda, E.L.; Mbuyi, D.K.; Malundu, T.B.; Mushiya, R.C.; Disashi, G.T. Coronavirus-19 in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Public Views, Attitudes, and Beliefs in an Unaffected Area: The Case of the City of Mbujimayi. Preprints 2020, 2020060317. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202006.0317.v1
Mbiya, B.M.; Djeugoue, S.L.; Kanda, E.L.; Mbuyi, D.K.; Malundu, T.B.; Mushiya, R.C.; Disashi, G.T. Coronavirus-19 in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Public Views, Attitudes, and Beliefs in an Unaffected Area: The Case of the City of Mbujimayi. Preprints2020, 2020060317. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202006.0317.v1
APA Style
Mbiya, B.M., Djeugoue, S.L., Kanda, E.L., Mbuyi, D.K., Malundu, T.B., Mushiya, R.C., & Disashi, G.T. (2020). Coronavirus-19 in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Public Views, Attitudes, and Beliefs in an Unaffected Area: The Case of the City of Mbujimayi. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202006.0317.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Mbiya, B.M., Rachel Ciaba Mushiya and Ghislain Tumba Disashi. 2020 "Coronavirus-19 in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Public Views, Attitudes, and Beliefs in an Unaffected Area: The Case of the City of Mbujimayi" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202006.0317.v1
Abstract
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly spreading across the world. In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 11 out of 26 provinces have been affected on 19 June 2020. The purpose of this study was to assess the public views, attitudes and beliefs related to the COVID-19 pandemic among the population of an unaffected city.Methods: This is a descriptive observational study conducted in an unaffected city using a questionnaire. Findings: A total of 769 people participated. The average age was 36 ±14 years. The sex ratio (male: female) was 1.6. The majority of respondents (97%) is aware of the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is well informed about the signs of the disease, its severity and barrier measures, however few of them have adopted the change in habit and behavior in respect of the barrier measures. Lack of water for handwashing is the most common difficulty in complying with barrier measures (71%). The COVID-19 is considered as an artificial virus designed to reduce the world population by 26%, God’s punishment (22%). Only 36% of the participants are in favor of vaccination against COVID-19. Vaccine is, a western conspiracy to spread COVID-19 in Africa (38%), testing it on Africans (35%), sterilize Africans’ people (12%).Conclusions: Cities not yet affected by COVID-19 in DRC are aware of the existence of the disease, but insufficiently prepared to deal with it. It is important to increase awareness on barrier measures, combating false information, and improving regular water supply for regular handwashing.
Keywords
COVID-19; Public views; Attitudes; Beliefs; Unaffected area; Democratic Republic of Congo
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Health Policy and Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Received:
27 June 2020
Commenter:
Jean-Paul Ngandu-Mbanga
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment:
-Dear colleagues! Thank you very much for the study and findings. Looking at the study criteria, you mentioned the area of unaffected zone. (1) This should be clearly indicating rural and urbain areas for inclusion study. (2) The level of education of the respondents need to be considered and included. (3) Respondents should include also keys informers (local authorities) who are the decision makers/influencers. (4) What are the reasons that makes your area of study to remain unprepared while the pandemic is at their gate? (5) What are the suggestions from your population of study (respondents) to improve the situation? (6) May you share with me your questionnaire for this study? Thanks and good luck. text--
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment:
Thank you very much dear Jean-Paul for your very helpful and well-founded comment. I take this into account for the improvement and will come back to you by email with the questionnaire. thanks again
Commenter: Jean-Paul Ngandu-Mbanga
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Commenter:
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Commenter:
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.