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Effect of Community Health Question-and-Answer Sessions on Knowledge of Common Diseases among Rural Residents in Nigeria

Abstract

Knowledge of common diseases is essential for disease prevention, early recognition of symptoms, appropriate healthcare-seeking behaviour, and timely access to treatment. Rural residents in Nigeria may have limited opportunities to obtain accurate health information or clarify misconceptions about common diseases because of inadequate access to healthcare professionals, low health literacy, cultural beliefs, language barriers, and limited health education activities. Community health question-and-answer sessions provide an interactive platform through which residents can ask questions, receive accurate health information, clarify misconceptions, and discuss disease prevention and early warning signs with trained health professionals or community health workers. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of community health question-and-answer sessions on knowledge of common diseases among rural residents in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Health Literacy Framework, and Social Cognitive Theory. The Health Belief Model explains how perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence residents' understanding and responses to common diseases. The Health Literacy Framework emphasizes the ability of individuals to access, understand, evaluate, and apply health information in making appropriate health decisions. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, social interaction, self-efficacy, reinforcement, and environmental influences on health knowledge and behaviour. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how interactive community health question-and-answer sessions may influence knowledge of common diseases among rural residents in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise adults aged 18 years and above residing in selected rural communities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, rural communities, households, and eligible participants. Community health question-and-answer sessions will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of sessions, duration, attendance, participation level, number and types of questions asked, topics discussed, involvement of trained healthcare professionals or community health workers, use of local languages, use of visual materials, clarity of responses, opportunities for follow-up questions, and accessibility of the sessions. Knowledge of common diseases will be assessed using indicators such as knowledge of disease causes or risk factors, common symptoms, warning signs, modes of transmission where applicable, preventive measures, appropriate treatment options, misconceptions about diseases, healthcare-seeking pathways, and awareness of when urgent medical attention is required. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, disease-knowledge assessment tools, session attendance registers, facilitator records, educational materials, and relevant community health programme documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, participation in question-and-answer sessions, and disease-knowledge scores. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of community health question-and-answer sessions on knowledge of common diseases. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, knowledge scores before and after participation in the sessions may be compared with those of a comparison community to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that community health question-and-answer sessions have a significant positive effect on knowledge of common diseases among rural residents in Nigeria. Residents who participate in interactive health question-and-answer sessions are expected to demonstrate improved understanding of common diseases, their symptoms, risk factors, prevention, and appropriate healthcare-seeking practices compared with residents without comparable exposure. The opportunity to ask questions directly may help identify and correct misconceptions that may not be addressed through conventional health education. The use of local languages, culturally appropriate examples, practical explanations, visual materials, and trusted community health workers may further improve participation and understanding. Interactive sessions may also enable health educators to identify specific information gaps and tailor subsequent health education to community needs. However, low attendance, limited availability of trained facilitators, language differences, cultural misconceptions, inadequate resources, fear of asking questions publicly, and irregular organization of sessions may reduce programme effectiveness. The study therefore expects regular, interactive, culturally appropriate, and community-participatory question-and-answer sessions to contribute significantly to improved knowledge of common diseases among rural residents in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on interactive health education, community question-and-answer sessions, disease knowledge, health literacy, rural health education, health promotion, community participation, disease prevention, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, state ministries of health, local government health authorities, primary healthcare centres, community health workers, health educators, community leaders, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening community health education. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating interactive question-and-answer sessions into community health programmes, training health educators in effective communication, encouraging community participation, using local languages, addressing culturally rooted misconceptions, and establishing regular community platforms for residents to obtain reliable information about common diseases across rural Nigeria.

Keywords: Community health question-and-answer sessions, disease knowledge, common diseases, rural residents, health education, health literacy, community participation, disease prevention, health promotion, primary healthcare, Nigeria, public health.