Department of Global Health and Development, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SH, England.
Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Bull World Health Organ. 2021 Feb 1;99(2):85-91. doi: 10.2471/BLT.20.260224. Epub 2020 Oct 28.
To investigate community and health-care workers' perspectives on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and on early pandemic responses during the first 2 weeks of national lockdown in Zimbabwe.
Rapid qualitative research was carried out between March and April 2020 via phone interviews with one representative from each of four community-based organizations and 16 health-care workers involved in a trial of community-based services for young people. In addition, information on COVID-19 was collected from social media platforms, news outlets and government announcements. Data were analysed thematically.
Four themes emerged: (i) individuals were overloaded with information but lacked trusted sources, which resulted in widespread fear and unanswered questions; (ii) communities had limited ability to comply with prevention measures, such as social distancing, because access to long-term food supplies and water at home was limited and because income had to be earned daily; (iii) health-care workers perceived themselves to be vulnerable and undervalued because of a shortage of personal protective equipment and inadequate pay; and (iv) other health conditions were sidelined because resources were redirected, with potentially wide-reaching implications.
It is important that prevention measures against COVID-19 are appropriate for the local context. In Zimbabwe, communities require support with basic needs and access to reliable information to enable them to follow prevention measures. In addition, health-care workers urgently need personal protective equipment and adequate salaries. Essential health-care services and medications for conditions other than COVID-19 must also continue to be provided to help reduce excess mortality and morbidity.
调查社区和卫生保健工作者对 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行的看法，以及在津巴布韦全国封锁的头两周内对大流行早期应对措施的看法。
2020 年 3 月至 4 月期间，通过电话访谈，对参与青年社区服务试验的 4 个社区组织的 1 名代表和 16 名卫生保健工作者进行了快速定性研究。此外，还从社交媒体平台、新闻媒体和政府公告中收集了有关 COVID-19 的信息。对数据进行了主题分析。
出现了四个主题：（i）个人被信息淹没，但缺乏可信的信息来源，导致广泛的恐惧和未解答的问题；（ii）社区遵守预防措施的能力有限，例如保持社交距离，因为家庭长期食品供应和水的获取有限，而且必须每天赚取收入；（iii）卫生保健工作者认为自己由于缺乏个人防护设备和工资不足而处于弱势和低估的地位；（iv）由于资源被重新分配，其他卫生状况被搁置，可能会产生广泛的影响。
COVID-19 的预防措施必须适合当地情况。在津巴布韦，社区需要获得基本需求的支持和获得可靠信息，以便他们能够遵守预防措施。此外，卫生保健工作者迫切需要个人防护设备和足够的工资。还必须继续提供其他疾病的基本医疗服务和药物，以帮助减少过度的死亡率和发病率。
