Exploring factors enabling the spread of COVID-19: Narratives of health professionals in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are affected by an array of health problems ranging from the weak infrastructure health system to the shortage of equipment and qualified personnel in hospitals and other medical facilities. This makes it difficult for health systems in these countries to withstand pandemics like COVID-19 leading to a rapid infection of the population. This research study was set to explore the factors enabling the spread of COVID-19 in the city of Harare. The study utilised an explorative qualitative approach (EQA). The study recruited 40 (N = 40) health professionals who worked for the private sector and the Ministry of Health. One to one semistructured interviews were used to collect data. The data were thematically analysed and presented. Ethical approval was granted by the Joint Research Council of Zimbabwe (JREC). The study found that the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), disregard for social distancing, lack of running water, shortage of clinical supplies, overcrowded living houses, selective enforcement of restrictions and corruption were factors that enabled the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the city of Harare. There is need for more hospitals to be built and fully equipped with the necessary equipment if health delivery and management of people affected by COVID-19 is to be improved. More importantly, the health system needs to be supported by a robust health promotion initiative to enlighten communities on pandemics like COVID-19 and the need to observe utmost hygiene in all spaces.

The impact of COVID-19 lockdown in a developing country: narratives of self-employed women in Ndola, Zambia.

Women are normally self-employed in businesses involving buying and selling of goods. Such businesses were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down. The researchers explored the impact the of COVID-19 lockdown on self-employed women. The researchers used a qualitative approach. Interviews were used to collect data. Forty participants took part in the study. The data was thematically analyzed. The researchers found that participants were affected by Inadequate food supplies, Hopelessness to revive business, Poor access to health services, Psychological trauma, Defaulting medications, and Challenges of keeping children indoors. There is need to provide social and economic support to self-employed women.

Knowledge, Attitude, Perception and Preventive Practice Towards Novel Coronavirus 2019 in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review Protocol (preprint)

Background: Recent statistics and studies have shown the adverse effects of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) on population health and how knowledge, attitude, perception and practice (KAP) towards the virus can be the main key to limiting its spread in the absence of a vaccine. Thus, this study aims at mapping evidence on the KAP towards COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using scoping review.Methods: The study will employ a systematic scoping review to identify, describe, and map literature on the KAP towards COVID-19 in SSA. The primary search will include peer-reviewed and grey literature. The search will be performed using the EBSCOhost platform and a keyword search from the following electronic databases will be conducted: PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Science Direct, World Health Organization (WHO) library, and grey literature. The study selection will be guided by the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A data charting table will be used to extract information from the included studies. Data will be analysed using NVIVO version 10 and a thematic content analysis will be used to present narrative account of the review.Discussion: We anticipate finding relevant literature on the KAP towards COVID-19 in SSA. The results of this study will help reveal research gaps in KAP towards COVID-19 and this will guide future research and highlight the new concepts discovered. Systematic review protocol registration: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/sdm46/.