Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport (HPALS) Research Centre, Sports Science Institute of South Africa, University of Cape Town (UCT), Cape Town, South Africa.
Public Health, Somerset Council, Taunton, UK.
Health Expect. 2024 Oct;27(5):e70030. doi: 10.1111/hex.70030.
As countries adapted their disaster responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa responded with an alert-level risk approach based on epidemiological principles that impacted all societal levels. We explored the everyday experiences of people in Cape Town whose basic needs were met and who could report on the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic control. Gaining insight into their perspectives contributes to knowledge that can inform policies and practices for managing future public health crises.
Community-Based Participatory Research principles guided the design and a series of facilitated dialogues with 18 research participants. The thematic analysis was deepened through two colloquiums with members of an overarching research consortium and a participant reflection workshop.
The pandemic impacted individuals, their interpersonal relationships, workplaces and communities, leading to societal processes such as stigma, virtue signalling and the subversion of mandates. The public health response had mixed reactions, with useful information about preventive measures being diluted by COVID-19 denialism and fake news. Health and other authorities were frequently perceived as out of touch with, and unresponsive to, the everyday realities of local communities.
Our study demonstrates the connectedness of people and the need to maintain and re-establish severed connections. A holistic approach to health care and promotion from social determinants of health and a community-engaged perspective may significantly increase the outcomes of public health responses.
People with everyday experience of the COVID-19 pandemic-including community members, healthcare workers, case managers, carers and researchers-collaborated on the study design, interview schedule, data interpretation, analysis and refinement of this article.
随着各国调整其对 COVID-19 大流行的应对措施，南非根据影响所有社会层面的流行病学原则，采用了警报级别的风险方法。我们探讨了开普敦人民的日常经历，他们的基本需求得到了满足，可以报告 COVID-19 大流行控制的现实情况。深入了解他们的观点有助于为管理未来公共卫生危机的政策和实践提供信息。
社区参与式研究原则指导了设计，并与 18 名研究参与者进行了一系列促进对话。通过与一个总体研究联盟的成员进行两次专题讨论会和一次参与者反思研讨会，对主题分析进行了深化。
大流行影响了个人、他们的人际关系、工作场所和社区，导致出现污名化、表现美德和颠覆任务等社会进程。公共卫生应对措施反应不一，有关预防措施的有用信息被 COVID-19 否认主义和假新闻所稀释。卫生和其他当局经常被认为与当地社区的日常现实脱节，并且对其反应迟钝。
我们的研究表明了人们的联系性以及维持和重新建立已断开联系的必要性。从社会决定因素和社区参与的角度出发，对医疗保健和促进进行整体方法可能会显著提高公共卫生应对措施的效果。
具有 COVID-19 大流行日常经验的人，包括社区成员、医疗保健工作者、案例管理人员、护理人员和研究人员，共同参与了研究设计、访谈计划、数据解释、分析和本文的修订。
