An assessment of awareness, knowledge and perception of monkeypox (mpox) disease among internet users in Nigeria: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to assess knowledge and perception of mpox among internet users in Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey guided by the health belief model (HBM). We assessed participants’ knowledge of mpox in three domains (transmission, signs and symptoms, prevention and treatment) and perception based on five constructs of HBM (susceptibility, severity, benefit, barriers and self-efficacy). We used Mann-Whitney U tests to identify factors associated with perception. Results: We recruited 277 participants. Most (90.6%) were aware of mpox and social media (39.8%) was the most popular source of information. Across Northern and Southern Nigeria, most respondents (87.7% and 86.7% respectively) identified contact with the body fluid of an infected person (84.9%) as the means of transmission and fever (80.9%) as the most common symptom. More than half of respondents (52.2%) in both regions had good knowledge scores (≥ mean score of 10). Overall, most respondents perceived mpox to be a serious disease (94.8%) that may require hospitalization (94.2%) but over half (58.9%) believed they were unlikely to be infected. We found no significant relationship between knowledge of mpox and respondents’ demographic characteristics (like age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, religion, income and occupation). However, perceived benefits of adherence to mpox preventive and control strategies were significantly higher among Christian respondents (p=0.014) while perceived self-efficacy was higher among respondents from the North (p=0.049). Conclusion: Awareness of mpox does not translate to adequate knowledge and risk perception. We recommend intensifying efforts on mpox risk communication through social media.