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Effect of Lassa Fever Awareness on Preventive Practices among Residents of High-Risk Communities in Nigeria

Abstract

Lassa fever is an important viral haemorrhagic disease and a significant public health concern in Nigeria, where outbreaks occur periodically and can result in severe illness and death. The disease is primarily associated with exposure to infected rodents and their urine, faeces, saliva, or other contaminated materials, while person-to-person transmission may occur, particularly in healthcare and household settings where infection prevention measures are inadequate. Preventive practices are therefore important for reducing exposure and limiting transmission. Such practices include proper storage and handling of food, maintaining clean household environments, safe disposal of waste, reducing rodent access to homes, avoiding contact with rodents and their excreta, practicing appropriate hand hygiene, avoiding contact with body fluids of suspected infected persons, and seeking prompt healthcare when symptoms consistent with Lassa fever occur. Lassa fever awareness provides individuals with knowledge about the causes, modes of transmission, risk factors, symptoms, prevention, and appropriate healthcare-seeking behaviour associated with the disease. In Nigeria, inadequate awareness, misconceptions, poor environmental sanitation, unsafe food storage, rodent infestation, and delayed healthcare seeking may increase the risk of Lassa fever transmission in high-risk communities. Effective health education may improve residents' understanding of Lassa fever and encourage the adoption of appropriate preventive practices. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of Lassa fever awareness on preventive practices among residents of high-risk communities in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model (HBM), Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) framework. The Health Belief Model explains preventive health behaviour through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action, providing a basis for understanding residents' decisions to adopt Lassa fever prevention practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, behavioural capabilities, social influences, and environmental conditions in shaping health behaviours. The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework provides a basis for examining how improved knowledge and attitudes resulting from Lassa fever education may translate into appropriate preventive practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a comprehensive framework for explaining how Lassa fever awareness may influence preventive practices among residents of high-risk communities in Nigeria. The study adopts a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from adult residents of selected high-risk communities in Nigeria using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and, where feasible, an environmental observation checklist. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, local government areas, communities, households, and eligible participants. Where feasible, selected communities will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Residents in the intervention communities will receive structured Lassa fever health education covering the causes and transmission of Lassa fever, common symptoms and warning signs, rodent control, safe food storage, household sanitation, waste disposal, hand hygiene, avoidance of contact with rodent excreta and body fluids of suspected cases, appropriate use of protective measures, and the importance of early healthcare seeking and reporting of suspected cases. Preventive practices will be assessed using indicators such as food storage practices, household sanitation, rodent-control measures, waste disposal, hand hygiene, avoidance of contact with rodents and potentially contaminated materials, and timely healthcare seeking when symptoms occur. Where feasible, self-reported practices will be complemented by household environmental observations. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' sociodemographic characteristics, levels of Lassa fever awareness, and preventive practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and multiple regression analysis, will be employed to determine the effect of Lassa fever awareness on preventive practices. Appropriate diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instrument, model assumptions, goodness of fit, and the robustness of the findings. The study anticipates that higher levels of Lassa fever awareness will have a significant positive effect on preventive practices among residents of high-risk communities in Nigeria. Residents exposed to appropriate Lassa fever education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of transmission pathways, symptoms, risk factors, and prevention strategies and to adopt safer household and environmental practices. Increased awareness may encourage better food storage, improved sanitation, stronger rodent-control measures, safer waste disposal, appropriate hand hygiene, and earlier healthcare seeking when symptoms suggestive of Lassa fever occur. However, awareness alone may not guarantee appropriate preventive practices because residents may face barriers such as poor housing conditions, inadequate waste-management systems, rodent infestation, limited access to clean water, poverty, limited availability of environmental health services, and misconceptions about the disease. Consequently, Lassa fever awareness interventions are expected to be more effective when combined with improved environmental sanitation, rodent-control programmes, accessible healthcare services, community surveillance, and sustained public health communication. This study is expected to contribute to the literature on infectious disease prevention, health education, environmental health, community health, Lassa fever control, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the effect of Lassa fever awareness on preventive practices among residents of high-risk communities. The findings will provide useful information for the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), state ministries of health, local government health authorities, environmental health departments, community health workers, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening Lassa fever prevention and control. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening community-based Lassa fever education, improving rodent-control and environmental sanitation programmes, promoting safe food storage and waste disposal, strengthening community surveillance and early reporting, and improving access to timely diagnosis and healthcare services in high-risk communities across Nigeria.

Keywords: Lassa fever awareness, preventive practices, high-risk communities, Lassa fever prevention, infectious disease prevention, rodent control, environmental sanitation, health education, community health, public health, Nigeria.