Page 90 - IJPS-9-1

International Journal of
Population Studies Assessment of impact of COVID-19

Table 1. Major themes identified in the focus groups their families and communities. One participant stated:
“the pandemic has affected particularly the children; they
General understanding of COVID-19 feel isolated and spend most of their time in front of their
Communication of messages computers.” Another participant indicated that she felt
Use of traditional and non-traditional medicine stressed, because her husband, son, and daughter in-law
Impact of COVID-19 on physical and mental health got COVID-19 and they had to cover the cost of the tests
and medicines. She stated: “The ministry of health only
called once” (Table 2).
3.1. General knowledge about COVID-19
General knowledge about COVID-19 varied between 3.5. Alternative medicine
geographic areas. Individuals living in rural areas seemed to The use of alternative medicine for both prevention and
have less understanding of the virus and its consequences. control dominated the conversation throughout the
One of the participants who lived in a rural community focus groups, regardless of geographical distribution.
indicated: “In the school, they told us that this was a new Participants indicated using homeopathic medicine and
disease that looked like a crown;” another one stated: home remedies to prevent and cure COVID-19. Some
“COVID was created by world powers and businesses of the home remedies used included sugar cane juice,
that produce sanitizers, masks, alcohol, etc., have used orange juice with an egg, matico (Aristeguietia glutinosa,
this to take advantage of the pandemic.” Many agreed ASTERACEAE), cypress, tilo (Sambucus nigra L.
that at the beginning, there was a lack of understanding ADOXACEAE), nettle (Urtica dioica L. URTICACEAE),
and knowledge about the virus and the guidelines for onion, garlic, chamomile (Matricaria chamomille L.
prevention and social distance (Table 2). ASTERACEAE), marco tea (Ambrosia arborescens Mill.
ASTERACEAE), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labill.
3.2. Knowledge about mode of transmission MYRTACEAE), concentrate of parsley, celery, cucumber,
Most of the participants, regardless of geographical curcuma, ginger, and mint tea among others. They firmly
distribution, understood the modes of transmission of believed that these herbs prevented them from becoming
the virus which may attest to the accuracy of formal sick and going to the hospital unlike people in the big cities
and informal messages received. Common modes of who did not use these herbs and plants (Haboud et al.,
transmission shared by the participants included: “Taking 2019; De la Torre et al., 2008; Ortega et al., 2020) (Table 2).
public transportation, direct contact with persons, time of
exposure, not using protection masks, not washing hands, 4. Discussion
attending parties, and use of the same food utensils” This study showed the impact of formal and informal
(Table 2). messages on individuals’ understanding of COVID-19.
The lack of general information about this novel disease
3.3. Methods for message sharing
took the world by surprise. Prevention and control
The messages about COVID-19 were shared through formal messages as well as the risk factors for the disease were
sources such as municipalities, Ministry of Health, television, not well understood and were not shared in a timely
and radio news. Most of the participants, however, stated manner creating confusion and conflicting messages.
that they received their information through social media Furthermore, there was an evolving learning curve
such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and others. among the scientific community as the virus mutated
The participants found some of the information by the week, making the reliability of any official
received from both formal and informal sources confusing announcement temporary at best. Unfortunately, this
and contradictory. One participant stated: “the information situation created “inconsistent messaging and it eroded
was not clear and precise, especially through social media. trust and credibility” (Holmes 2020).
This created chaos and a feeling of panic.” Another Official messages provided by institutions such as the
participant stated: “people do not trust the information Ministry of Health were supposed to broadcast specific
received from the government because it is contradictory; recommendations to instill public trust in scientific
people rather investigate about the disease through the evidence; however, conditions changed so rapidly that
internet” (Table 2). scientific information issued in 1 day could be old and
inaccurate within a few days, therefore eroding public trust
3.4. Impact of COVID-19 on mental health and contributing to a broad health emergency worldwide.
The participants, particularly from urban areas, complained In fact, the lack of information through official channels
about the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of and the inaccurate information shared through unofficial

Volume 9 Issue 1 (2023) 84 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.406