Survey data of COVID-19-related Knowledge, Risk Perceptions and Precautionary Behavior among Nigerians

Olapegba, Peter O; Ayandele, Olusola

In response to the global call for strategic information to understand the novel coronavirus, the dataset presented in this paper is an examination of COVID-19-related knowledge, risk perceptions and precautionary health behavior among Nigerians. The data were generated during the COVID-19 lockdown in the country through a survey distributed via an online questionnaire, assessing socio-demographic information (7 items), knowledge (5 items), information sources (1 item), risk perception (9 items), expected end of lockdown (1 item), and COVID-19 precautionary health behavior (10 items), from 28th March to 4th April, 2020, gathering a total of 1,357 responses. A combination of purposive and snowball techniques helped to select the respondents via Whatsapp and Facebook from 180 cities/towns in the 6 geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The survey data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The entire dataset is stored in a Microsoft Excel Worksheet (xlsx) and the questionnaire is attached as a supplementary file. The data will assist in curbing the Coronavirus pandemic by offering evidence for strategic and targeted interventions as well as health policy formulations and implementation.