Perception of healthcare workers towards the government's Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic response in Ekiti State, Nigeria: A cross sectional study

Background: Globally, coronavirus 2019 pandemic has led to severe illnesses, loss of lives, and social disruption in Nigeria. Ekiti State government introduced different strategies, protocols, and standard operating procedures in the control of the pandemic. This study assessed the perception of primary healthcare workers (HCWs) to the measures introduced to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted between August and September 2020 among primary HCWs in Ekiti State. A Google survey tool was used to create an online questionnaire which was administered to respondents on social media platform. Analysis was done using STATA SE 12. Descriptive and bivariate analysis were conducted with a level of significance set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean ± standard deviation age of the respondents was 44.2 ± 6.7 years. Almost all (99.4%) of respondents had heard of COVID-19 pandemic while less than three-quarter (67.7%) had been trained on COVID-19. About half (54.6%) and (50.0%), respectively had good knowledge and perception of COVID-19, while three-quarter (75%) had good practice. About half (50.4%) had good perception about government's response toward COVID-19 prevention and protocols. Social and news media and family and friends were significantly associated with respondents' perception toward government' response (P = 0.000; 0.006 and 0.011) respectively. Similarly, the level of perception and practice of respondents were found to be statistically significant with respondent's perception of government response to COVID-19 (P = 0.001 and 0.040) respectively. Conclusion: Only about half of the respondents had good knowledge of COVID-19 and positive perception toward government's response to COVID-19 pandemic. Intensification of government's efforts toward the pandemic control in Nigeria is recommended.