COVID-19 Pandemic: Knowledge and Attitudes in Public Markets in the Former Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Trésor Carsi Kuhangana, Caleb Kamanda Mbayo, Joseph Pyana Kitenge, Arlène Kazadi Ngoy, Taty Muta Musambo, Paul Musa Obadia, Patrick D.M.C. Katoto, Célestin Banza Lubaba Nkulu and Benoit Nemery
Additional contact information
Trésor Carsi Kuhangana: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Public Health, University of Kolwezi, Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Caleb Kamanda Mbayo: Unit of Toxicology and Environment, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Joseph Pyana Kitenge: Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Arlène Kazadi Ngoy: Unit of Toxicology and Environment, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Taty Muta Musambo: Unit of Toxicology and Environment, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Paul Musa Obadia: Unit of Toxicology and Environment, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Patrick D.M.C. Katoto: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Respiratory Medicine & Prof. Lurhuma Biomedical Research Laboratory, Mycobacterium Unit, Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Célestin Banza Lubaba Nkulu: Unit of Toxicology and Environment, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Benoit Nemery: Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-16

Abstract: Background. Public markets were exempted from the restrictive regulations instituted to limit the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In the early stage of the pandemic, we assessed people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior on public markets towards COVID-19. Methods . We conducted a cross-sectional study from 16 to 29 April 2020 among sellers and customers frequenting the food sections of ten public markets in three large cities (Kolwezi, Likasi, and Lubumbashi) and one small town (Lwambo) of the former Katanga province. We administered a questionnaire on knowledge (about clinical characteristics, transmission and prevention) and on attitudes in relation to COVID-19. We also observed prevailing practices (hand-washing and mask-wearing). Results : Of the 347 included participants (83% women, 83% sellers), most had low socioeconomic status and a low level of education. Only 30% of participants had correct knowledge of COVID-19. The majority of the respondents (88%) showed no confidence in the government’s ability to manage the upcoming pandemic crisis. Nearly all respondents (98%) were concerned about the associated increase in food insecurity. Preventive practices were rarely in place. Conclusion : For an effective implementation of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Africa, appropriate health education programs to improve knowledge and attitudes are warranted among the population frequenting public markets.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; prevention and control; mass education; population health; Democratic Republic of Congo; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/20/7441/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/20/7441/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:20:p:7441-:d:427018

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().