Department of Information Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mzuzu University, Mzuzu.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2023 Jan 30;15(1):e1-e9. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v15i1.3464.
Owing to their detachment from urban areas, people living in rural areas of Malawi are on the receiving end of health services and socio-economic benefits. The study therefore explored how Malawians living in these areas are adhering to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) containment measures and the factors that affect the COVID-19 fight amongst this population.
The study investigated how the rural population in Malawi adheres to COVID-19 containment measures.
The study was conducted in two districts in Northern Malawi.
Data were collected from 263 participants. The chi-square (χ2) test was performed to determine the association between demographic variables and COVID-19 prevention practices and factors affecting the COVID-19 fight.
Education was significantly associated with wearing of masks (p = 0.01), use of sanitisers (p 0.01) and practising social distancing (p = 0.07). Monthly income was associated with the use of sanitisers (p 0.01). Women were more exposed to fake news about COVID-19 (p = 0.09); older people were more likely to disregard COVID-19 containment measures for cultural reasons (p = 0.07); and monthly income was associated with a lack of resources for following COVID-19 containment measures (p 0.01).
Findings show that factors affecting the COVID-19 fight are influenced by various socio-economic factors which should therefore be taken into account in policy planning aiming at controlling the pandemic.Contribution: The study provides health stakeholders with a policy direction that enhances better coordination, implementation and monitoring of COVID-19 response and recovery activities in rural areas in Malawi. The findings have implications on controlling current and future communicable diseases; the proposed strategies might be employed in fighting similar current and future pandemics.
由于与城市地区的脱节，生活在马拉维农村地区的人们成为了卫生服务和社会经济利益的接受者。因此，本研究探讨了生活在这些地区的马拉维人如何遵守 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）遏制措施，以及影响该人群抗击 COVID-19 的因素。
本研究调查了马拉维农村人口如何遵守 COVID-19 遏制措施。
本研究在马拉维北部的两个地区进行。
从 263 名参与者中收集数据。使用卡方（χ2）检验来确定人口统计学变量与 COVID-19 预防措施之间的关联，以及影响 COVID-19 防控的因素。
教育与戴口罩（p=0.01）、使用消毒剂（p 0.01）和保持社交距离（p=0.07）显著相关。月收入与消毒剂的使用相关（p=0.01）。女性更容易接触到关于 COVID-19 的虚假新闻（p=0.09）；老年人更有可能出于文化原因无视 COVID-19 遏制措施（p=0.07）；月收入与缺乏遵循 COVID-19 遏制措施的资源相关（p 0.01）。
研究结果表明，影响 COVID-19 防控的因素受到各种社会经济因素的影响，因此在制定旨在控制大流行的政策规划时应考虑这些因素。
本研究为卫生利益相关者提供了政策方向，有助于更好地协调、实施和监测马拉维农村地区的 COVID-19 应对和恢复活动。研究结果对控制当前和未来的传染病具有启示意义；所提出的策略可能用于对抗当前和未来的类似大流行。
