A cross-sectional study of COVID-19 knowledge, beliefs and prevention behaviors among adults in Senegal
Authors: Kearney Matthew D. , Bornstein Marta , Fall Marieme , Nianogo Roch , Glik Deborah , Massey Philip M. 
Published: September 2021

Background

COVID-19 is an ongoing threat to global public health since its emergence at the end of 2019, yet little is known about how populations in francophone West Africa have responded to COVID-19 in their daily lives. Senegal, in particular, has been noted for its relative success in mitigating the spread and impact of COVID-19. We report original research findings on COVID-19 beliefs and prevention behaviors in a sample of Senegalese adults.

Methods

A multi-modal cross-sectional study was conducted to describe COVID-19 beliefs and prevention behaviors in a sample of Senegalese adults and to identify potential predictors of prevention behaviors. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistics were generated to describe the sample and explore potential correlations.

Results

Mask wearing, hand washing, and use of hand sanitizer were most frequently reported. Social distancing and staying at home were also reported albeit to a lower degree. We also identified a range of psychosocial and demographic predictors for COVID-19 prevention behaviors. Men, compared to women, had lower odds (OR=0.59) of reporting prevention behaviors. Rural residents (vs. urban; OR=1.49) and participants with at least a high school education (vs. less than high school education; OR=1.33) were more likely to report COVID-19 prevention behaviors.

Discussion

Stakeholders and decision makers in Senegal and across Africa can use place-based evidence like ours to address COVID-19 risk factors and intervene effectively with policies and programming. Use of both phone and online surveys enhances representation and study generalizability and should be considered in future research with hard-to-reach populations.

Article Summary

Strengths and limitations of this study

The main strength of our study is the use of a multi-modal data collection strategy, online and via telephone. Had we relied on a single method, our sample’s demographic characteristics would likely have differed while also introducing selection bias.

Our recruitment strategy may have also increased the potential for selection bias because participants were recruited online and on-the-ground in Senegal; thus, all participants, by the nature of the recruitment methods, had access to the internet and/or a cell phone. To address potential confounding between recruitment methods, we controlled for recruitment method in our multivariate regression modelling.

Prior to our study, little evidence was available about how populations in francophone West Africa have responded to COVID-19 in their daily lives. We adapted pre-existing research panels and developed novel data collection instruments to capture information about COVID-19, and this may serve as a model for the responsiveness of ongoing scholarship to future global events.

A study with a larger sample may have been able to identify relationships between knowledge and behaviors, and our study was not design with enough statistical power to detect significant differences.

The findings of our study may not be generalizable beyond Senegal, or more specifically Senegalese adults.