TY - JOUR
T1 - Opinion and uptake of chloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 during the mandatory lockdown in the sub-Saharan African region
AU - Osuagwu, Uchechukwu L.
AU - Nwaeze, Obinna
AU - Ovenseri-Ogbomo, Godwin
AU - Oloruntoba, Richard
AU - Ekpenyong, Bernadine
AU - Mashige, Khathutshelo P.
AU - Timothy, Chikasirimobi
AU - Ishaya, Tanko
AU - Langsi, Raymond
AU - Charwe, Deborah
AU - Abu, Emmanuel Kwasi
AU - Chundung, Miner A.
AU - Agho, Kingsley E.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/6/15
Y1 - 2021/6/15
N2 - Background: As the search for effective treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection continues, the public opinion around the potential use of chloroquine (CQ) in treating COVID-19 remains mixed. Aim: To examine opinion and uptake of CQ for treating COVID-19 in the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region. Setting: This study was conducted through an online survey software titled SurveyMonkey. Methods: Anonymous online survey of 1829 SSA countries was conducted during the lockdown period using Facebook, WhatsApp and authors' networks. Opinion and uptake of CQ for COVID-19 treatment were assessed using multivariate analyses. Results: About 14% of respondents believed that CQ could treat COVID-19 and of which, 3.2% took CQ for COVID-19 treatment. Multivariate analyses revealed that respondents from Central (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 2.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43, 4.43) and West Africa (aOR: 1.79, 95% CI 1.15, 2.88) had higher odds of believing that CQ could treat COVID-19. Respondents from East Africa reported higher odds for uptake of CQ for COVID-19 than Central, Western and Southern Africans. Knowledge of the disease and compliance with the public health advice were associated with both belief and uptake of CQ for COVID-19 treatment. Conclusion: Central and West African respondents were more likely to believe in CQ as a treatment for COVID-19 whilst the uptake of the medication during the pandemic was higher amongst East Africans. Future intervention discouraging the unsupervised use of CQ should target respondents from Central, West and East African regions.
AB - Background: As the search for effective treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection continues, the public opinion around the potential use of chloroquine (CQ) in treating COVID-19 remains mixed. Aim: To examine opinion and uptake of CQ for treating COVID-19 in the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region. Setting: This study was conducted through an online survey software titled SurveyMonkey. Methods: Anonymous online survey of 1829 SSA countries was conducted during the lockdown period using Facebook, WhatsApp and authors' networks. Opinion and uptake of CQ for COVID-19 treatment were assessed using multivariate analyses. Results: About 14% of respondents believed that CQ could treat COVID-19 and of which, 3.2% took CQ for COVID-19 treatment. Multivariate analyses revealed that respondents from Central (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 2.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43, 4.43) and West Africa (aOR: 1.79, 95% CI 1.15, 2.88) had higher odds of believing that CQ could treat COVID-19. Respondents from East Africa reported higher odds for uptake of CQ for COVID-19 than Central, Western and Southern Africans. Knowledge of the disease and compliance with the public health advice were associated with both belief and uptake of CQ for COVID-19 treatment. Conclusion: Central and West African respondents were more likely to believe in CQ as a treatment for COVID-19 whilst the uptake of the medication during the pandemic was higher amongst East Africans. Future intervention discouraging the unsupervised use of CQ should target respondents from Central, West and East African regions.
KW - Africa
KW - chloroquine hydrochloride
KW - coronavirus
KW - poisoning
KW - sub-Saharan Africa
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U2 - 10.4102/PHCFM.V13I1.2795
DO - 10.4102/PHCFM.V13I1.2795
M3 - Article
C2 - 34212739
AN - SCOPUS:85110358860
SN - 2071-2928
VL - 13
SP - 1
EP - 8
JO - African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine
JF - African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine
IS - 1
ER -
