Page 91 - IJPS-9-1

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

Table 2. Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about COVID‑19
Urban area Rural area
Theme 1: General knowledge about COVID-19
“We know the virus is in the air and if we open our windows, we can get it.” “This is a virus that increases family violence and it is also hard on children. We
“We have to take our shoes and our clothes before we get into our have a lot of families that had migrated to the city and have come back to the
house. Some of us also use a biosecurity suit as this is CDC protocol.” community without a job. This has generated fear in the community as people
“We can get COVID through direct contact with people (i.e., grocery are afraid of getting the virus. In the community, we are using traditional
stores); the time of exposure and the number of people you have medicine such as chamomile and matico teas and eucalyptus vaporizations.”
contact with is also important for transmission of the virus.” “In our community, we were told that the virus was in China and looked like a
“It is important not to use the same food utensils, avoid crowding, and crown, hence its name. They told us it would not come to the rural areas because
use the mask appropriately.” it was a new disease; however, after a couple of weeks we were all in quarantine.”
Theme 2: Knowledge about mode of transmission
“Taking the trolley is concerning because there is no social distancing.” “A family member died of COVID and we all went to the funeral and got the
“The virus can be transmitted by not washing the hands and by going virus; that is when I learned two things: transmission occurs from person to
to family reunions.” person and there is no cure for the disease.”
“We can get the virus when we are in closed quarters or when we go to “The transmission happens person to person through the saliva.”
discotheques.” “There are people who are symptomatic and asymptomatic. There are many people
who are asymptomatic. We must follow the advice from the authorities, keep social
distance and be careful in public spaces, when using public transportation and
when going to school as children can also transmit the disease.”
Theme 3: Methods for message sharing
“We learned about COVID through the news, television, radio, “We use community radio stations to transmit important information. It is
newspaper, social media, official channels, and relatives.” transmitted in our own dialect. Those who do not know how to read and write,
“The information was not clear and was alarming, particularly in social listen to the radio. The youth use social media. We also use megaphones and
media.” community fairs to share the information.”
“I heard about COVID through the municipality, the health
department, and What’s up. I do not trust the information provided by
the government, because it is contradictory. I rather use the internet.”
“Some of the confusing messages were spread because there was not
an understanding of the disease. For example, at the beginning people
would not share the sidewalk for fear to get the virus.”
Theme 4: Impact of COVID-19 on mental health
“I had COVID. I was very stressed due to the isolation and because I “My family and the entire community was very sad and very scared because
was not able to take care of my family.” we thought we all were going to die. We put our trust in God but at the same
“I just got a COVID test and I am afraid of getting the results because time I had to go to the field to work and I did not know when I was going to
I would have to isolate myself and I need to work. I have a dilemma, if get COVID and if I was going to die.”
I go out I can get the virus, but if I do not go out I may starve. When
people have had COVID they are isolated by the community.”
Theme 5: Alternative medicine
“I treated myself with a mix of home remedies (i.e., sugar cane juice) “I took ivermectin and acetaminophen for 5 days, I used a nebulizer with
and western medicine.” eucalyptus and chamomile as well.”
“My friends had COVID. They did salt and water gargles. One person “My doctor recommended to use home remedies such as orange juice with
was cured after 51 days, another one died.” ginger and to use a nebulizer.”
“My doctor recommended to do salt and water gargles with water from “I ate a mix of chocolate, orange juice and egg for three nights and my cough
the ocean. He also recommended to take acetaminophen and vitamin C.” was gone.”

channels created an environment of skepticism, distrust with COVID-19, positivity rate on testing, the number
and conspiracy, which generated a series of unfounded of people in intensive care units, and mortality rate and
concerns about the origin of the virus and its spread which way all of these indicators were trending which
(World Health Organization, 2020). would have given a snapshot of the severity of the disease
Our study that was conducted from August 2020 in the country.
to April 2021 was able to identify people’s level of Proven preventive public health measures such as
dissatisfaction with the messages received through official mask-wearing, social distancing, frequent handwashing
channels because they did not accurately reflect what was and disinfection, and the lockdown measures were not
happening in the country in terms of the number of cases immediately accepted due to an avalanche of inaccurate

Volume 9 Issue 1 (2023) 85 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.406