Community Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Relating To Covid-19 Among Taxi Drivers In La Dade-Kotopon District: A Case Study Of Kotoka International Airport

Abstract

The covid-19 pandemic is one disease that has shaken the socio-economic status of almost every country in the world. Various social strata have not been spurred. The concern of covid-19 spans oceans and continents. The current study sought to primarily assess the knowledge and practices relating to COVID-19 and as well as sources of information of the virus among taxi drivers at the Kotoka International Airport in the La Dade-Kotopon District. The study used a qualitative research design. Purposive sampling approach was adopted to sample out the respondents at the port. Fifteen (15) respondents, members of the KIA Taxicab operators union were engaged with in-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. An audio recorder and a field notebook were used in collecting data for thematic analysis. The study came out with the following key findings: the knowledge base of the taxi-drivers on the COVID-19 is quite high although some degree of misconception existed. Most of the taxi drivers perceive themselves to go by the standard protocols on the disease but in practice deviated from the expected norm. This deviation is motivated by religious sentiments, cultural conducts, and lack of belief in the political power. It was observed that most of the respondents prefer aligning themselves to traditional herbal medicine to treat symptoms of the disease rather than the orthodox procedures as stipulated by the world and the Ministry of Health. The respondents received knowledge on COVID-19 from various sources, but the predominant ones were, radio, television, family and friends, workplace facilities and Community information Vans by the National Communication Authority. In conclusion the study revealed that the knowledge on COVID-19 is very high and the practice of protocols regarding the disease are quite high, though some people still deviate from the practice based on their personal beliefs regarding the existence of the disease.