Unconventional Products for COVID-19 Prevention: Practices, Experiences and Perceptions of Frontline Workers in Borno State, Nigeria

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Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had come with a lot of rumours, some of which had suggested the use of unconventional methods for self-protection against the disease. With regards to health behaviour, people in the community generally consider health workers as role models, occasionally using the behaviour of health workers to validate even unhealthy practices. This study aimed at exploring the misuse of unconventional products for self-protection against COVID-19 by frontline health workers. Methods: Questionnaire surveys as well as in-depth interviews were conducted among COVID-19 frontline health workers in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Standardised questionnaire and interview guides developed based on the health belief model were used to collect information from the respondents. The quantitative data obtained from the survey were analysed statistically to determine the predictors of using those products while thematic analysis was conducted for the qualitative data from the interviews. Results: A total of 225 frontline workers answered the survey, majority (65.3%) were males. Almost all of them (89.3%) had education above secondary school level, with 45.8% having over 10 years of working experience. Regarding perceived susceptibility, 92.4% of the respondents believed that their work placed them at a higher risk of contracting the disease and 89.3% believed that COVID-19 was a severe disease. As for perceived benefits and barriers, 49.3% believed that those unconventional products could be beneficial and 48.9% believed that they could result in harmful consequences. During the interviews however, none of them agreed that taking those products were beneficial. Half of the respondents (50.7%) reported they had taken some unconventional medications/products, majorly garlic, Chloroquine, and Vitamin C to protect themselves from COVID-19. Belief that those unconventional products were beneficial (OR = 2.37; 95% CI: 1.29 – 4.37) and having had COVID-like symptoms (OR = 3.63, 95% CI: 1.87 – 7.03), were predictors of unconventional medications/products misuse. Conclusions: The prevalence of misuse of unconventional products for COVID-19 prevention was high among the frontline workers in this study. This could adversely affect efforts by health authorities in discouraging the public from abusing them. Intervention programmes aimed at promoting desirable health behaviours should thus start by targeting frontline workers.

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