Residents’ Awareness and Compliance with COVID-19 Regulations in Shomolu Local Government Area, Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

The devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on human health and socioeconomic activities remain a major global concern. Beyond triggering an economic recession, the pandemic has led to over 25 million job losses worldwide. To flatten the curve and effectively combat the spread, evidence-based policy remains critical. This can be achieved through empirical investigation. This study examines residents’ awareness of and compliance with coronavirus pandemic regulations in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study area was stratified into three residential densities: high, medium, and low. A total of 181 respondents were randomly selected from a sampling frame of 8,530 buildings using systematic sampling with a random start and sampling interval of 40. Data were collected through questionnaire administration and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings reveal that awareness of coronavirus regulations was high across all residential densities. However, One-Way ANOVA showed no significant difference in awareness levels among residents across densities (F(2, 178) = 2.01, p > 0.05). In terms of compliance, the Coronavirus Pandemic Regulation Index (CPRI) was highest for face mask use (4.28), hand sanitiser use (4.15), and frequent handwashing (3.95). The least complied-with regulation across the three densities was the restriction on international travel. ANOVA results also indicated no significant difference in compliance levels across residential densities, F(2, 178) = 0.933, p > 0.05. It is concluded that awareness of and compliance with coronavirus regulations are not a function of residential density. Therefore, strategies to improve awareness and compliance should be applied uniformly across high-, medium-, and low-density areas rather than be spatially differentiated.