ABSTRACT
Background: The development of COVID-19 vaccines holds great potential for controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines, irrespective of the disease are generally fraught with hesitancy, and Nigeria has a history of vaccine hesitancy. Objective: This study aimed at determining the perception of community members about the COVID-19 vaccine and their readiness to accept the vaccine in South West, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed to collect data from consenting adults using a structured online questionnaire for a period of three weeks. Data were subjected to a Chi-square test and logistic regression for bivariate and multivariate analysis, respectively. Results: A total of 807 respondents participated in the survey with 57.7% males and 42.3% females. Forty-five respondents (5.6%) had previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 while 11.5% of the respondents had co-morbidity. The overall perception of COVID-19 vaccines was good. Fifty-nine (59%) percent of the respondents were willing to accept the vaccine and will also encourage their family members to take the vaccine. Vaccine origin and cost were determinants of vaccine acceptability. Nonacceptability of the vaccine (61.6%) was based on possible adverse effects of the vaccine and mistrust of the government. Educational level, skill status, type of employment, and sector of employment were associated (P<0.001) with the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusions: Citizens were willing to take COVID-19 vaccines, however, a lack of trust in government programs might undermine the vaccine campaign. Hence, the government needs to rebuild trust with the citizens towards achieving a high vaccination rate for COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The unprecedented depletion of the productive workforce has been majorly attributed to road traffic crashes (RTCs). The attendant consequences of this depletion have been found to constitute a serious global public health challenge, with the use of psychoactive substances among drivers implicated in every three of five motor vehicle accidents. Hence, this study assessed the pattern and explored the determinants of substance abuse among commercial bus drivers in Umuahia, Abia State. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used for the study. Four hundred commercial bus drivers were recruited from selected motor parks in Abia-state, using a multistage sampling technique from October to December 2020. A pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaire was administered to obtain socio-demographics and information on substance abuse. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 25; bivariate analysis was done using Chi-square. The level of significance was at 5%. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 40.03 ± 10.50 years. The proportion of respondents who had ever abused a psychoactive substance was 74.6%. The most commonly abused substances among drivers include alcohol (51%), cigarettes (27%), and alcoholic herbal mixtures (16%). The study participants had poor knowledge (54.5%) and poor perception (63.2%) about psychoactive substance abuse. Among the factors found to be significantly associated with substance abuse among respondents were ethnicity (p = 0.002), religion (p = 0.009) and monthly income (p = 0.013) of the respondents, poor knowledge (p < 0.001) and poor perception (p < 0.001). However, this study found religion (p = 0.031; OR = 5.469; CI = 1.170 to 25.555), knowledge (p < 0.001; OR = 4.21; CI = 2.201 to 8.287) and perception (p < 0.001; OR = 9.828; CI = 15.572 to 65.052) as factors that were associated with the higher likelihood of psychoactive substance abuse. CONCLUSION: Religion, poor knowledge and perception were associated with the higher likelihood of psychoactive substance abuse among commercial bus drivers. Targeting commercial bus drivers for educational interventions and using religious leaders as conveyor belts may reduce the use of psychoactive substances among them.
