COVID-19 as a social disease: qualitative analysis of COVID-19 prevention needs, impact of control measures and community responses among racialized/ethnic minorities in Antwerp, Belgium.

BACKGROUND: In high income countries, racialized/ethnic minorities are disproportionally affected by COVID-19. Despite the established importance of community involvement in epidemic preparedness, we lack in-depth understanding of these communities' experiences with and responses to COVID-19. We explored information and prevention needs, coping mechanisms with COVID-19 control measures and their impact on lived experiences among selected racialized/ethnic minority communities. METHODS: This qualitative rapid assessment conducted in Antwerp/Belgium used an interpretative and participatory approach. We included migrant communities with geographic origins ranging from Sub-Saharan Africa, North-Africa to the Middle East, Orthodox Jewish communities and professional community workers. Data were collected between May 2020-May 2021 through key informant-, in-depth interviews and group discussions (N = 71). Transcripts were analyzed inductively, adopting a reflexive thematic approach. A community advisory board provided feedback throughout the research process. RESULTS: Participants indicated the need for tailored information in terms of language and timing. At the start of the epidemic, they perceived official public health messages as insufficient to reach all community members. Information sources included non-mainstream (social) media and media from home countries, hampering a nuanced understanding of virus transmission mechanisms and local and national protection measures. Participants felt the measures' most negative impact on their livelihoods (e.g. loss of income, disruption of social and immigration support). Economic insecurity triggered chronic stress and fears at individual and family level. High degrees of distrust in authorities and anticipated stigma were grounded in previously experienced racial and ethnic discrimination. Community-based initiatives mitigated this impact, ranging from disseminating translated and tailored information, providing individual support, and successfully reaching community members with complex needs (e.g. the elderly, digitally illiterate people, those with small social networks or irregular legal status). CONCLUSION: Study participants' narratives showed how coping with and responding to COVID-19 was strongly intertwined with socio-economic and ethnic/racial characteristics. This justifies conceptualizing COVID-19 a social disease. At the same time, communities demonstrated resilience in responding to these structural vulnerabilities. From a health equity perspective, we provide concrete policy recommendations grounded in insights into communities' structural vulnerabilities and resilience.

Rehearsing post-Covid-19 citizenship: Social representations of UK Covid-19 mutual aid.

People across the world have responded to the pandemic by mobilizing and organizing to support their communities, setting up mutual aid groups to provide practical, financial, and social support. Mutual aid means short-term 'crisis response' for some, while for other groups, it is a chance to radically restructure society, and what it means to be a member of that society. Drawing on social representations theory and previous work on citizenship in social and political psychology, we examined the ways in which mutual aid was understood and performed by members of UK Covid-19 mutual aid groups. We conducted 29 interviews with members of these groups in May/June 2020. A reflexive thematic analysis showed that mutual aid groups were characterized as complex, efficient, and non-hierarchical units, operating on the principles of solidarity, kindness, and trust. Two tensions were evident in the data, specifically between (1) collaboration with existing organizations and structures (e.g., local government and the police), and resistance to it and (2) maximizing group inclusivity and sustaining political critique. Findings are discussed in relation to existing theoretical and empirical work on citizenship and mutual aid groups.

Máscaras do Bem: An analysis of face-mask performance from a volunteer mask-making initiative in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the response of a group of volunteers in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, as the city faced an unprecedented demand for face masks during the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. The performance of artisanal-produced masks was compared with industry equivalents. STUDY DESIGN: Case report with comparative testing. METHODS: A comparison was made between two parallel projects that produced single-use masks for healthcare workers and reusable masks for the community. Mask samples were tested for filtration efficiency (FE) and breathability (pressure drop). RESULTS: Results for FE averaged 40-60% for healthcare masks and 10% for community masks; both types of masks were tested for particle sizes of 0.3 â€‹µm. CONCLUSIONS: While performance was inferior to standard comparators, the masks investigated in this study afforded a level of protection in the absence of alternatives, especially in non-aerosol generating contexts. The findings of this study are useful for communities with limited resources in other developing countries. In addition, insights can be gained from the experiences in Ribeirão Preto in terms of how to respond to future health emergencies.

A country comparison of place-based activity response to COVID-19 policies.

The emergence of the novel Coronavirus Disease in late 2019 (COVID-19) and subsequent pandemic led to an immense disruption in the daily lives of almost everyone on the planet. Faced with the consequences of inaction, most national governments responded with policies that restricted the activities conducted by their inhabitants. As schools and businesses shuttered, the mobility of these people decreased. This reduction in mobility, and related activities, was recorded through ubiquitous location-enabled personal mobile devices. Patterns emerged that varied by place-based activity. In this work the differences in these place-based activity patterns are investigated across nations, specifically by focusing on the relationship between government enacted policies and changes in community activity patterns. By addressing five research questions, we show that people's activity response to government action varies widely both across nations as well as regionally within them. Three assessment measures, namely cosine similarity, lag response, and subregional variation, are devised and the results correlate with a number of global indices. We discuss these findings and the relationship between government action and residents' response.

Community engagement in COVID-19 prevention: experiences from Kilimanjaro region, Northern Tanzania.

Prevention of exposure to the COVID-19 virus in the general population is an essential strategy to slow community transmission. This paper shares the experiences and challenges of community engagement in COVID-19 prevention in the Kilimanjaro region, Northern Tanzania implemented by our team from the Institute of Public Health (IPH), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo) in collaboration with the COVID-19 response team in the Moshi Municipality. We conducted an education session with the COVID-19 response team and together brainstormed transmission hotspots and which interventions would be most feasible in their settings. The first hotspot identified was crowded local market spaces. Suggested interventions included targeted and mass public health education through the engagement of market opinion leaders, public announcements, and radio shows. We conducted participatory rural appraisal techniques to enable market vendors and clients to visualize two-meter distances and provided a prototype hand-washing facility that was foot operated. We found mass public health educational campaigns essential to inform and update the public about COVID-19 pandemic and to address rumors and misinformation, which hampers compliance with public health interventions. Coordinated efforts among stakeholders in the country are necessary to develop context-specific prevention and case management strategies following the national and international guidelines. Local ownership of recommended interventions is necessary to ensure compliance.