Lyrics and artistic improvisations in health promotion for the COVID-19 pandemic control in East Africa.
Glob Health Promot
; 28(1): 23-32, 2021 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-953742
ABSTRACT
News about the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in December 2019 diffused gradually to East Africa through mainstream media and social media. The general public construed the pandemic threat as being 'far away' and associated it with foreign practices and behaviours. Social media discourse was initially replete with indifference about the perceived risk. Conflicting views about the possibility of the pandemic spreading to Africa and the complexity of explaining its causes delayed the desired understanding of the reality of the global public health concern. The popular public response to the COVID-19 control discourse is therefore characterised by ambivalence about embracing the pandemic control protocols. Drawing on content and discourse analysis of musical and poetic compositions on COVID-19 by artists in East Africa and shared among WhatsApp users in Kenya, this article describes local perspectives on COVID-19 risk and their health promotion implications. It explores local construction of the meaning of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences for effective health promotion. The article considers the spontaneous musical and poetic performances by experienced and amateur artists as local attempts to enhance compliance with the global COVID-19 control protocols and popular participation in local health promotion. The basic premise is that artists' creation and sharing of digital COVID-19 lyrics denote their attempt to go beyond the medical logic of health promotion by including broad aspects of a cultural logic of care. This approach would establish an integrated and sustainable health promotion framework to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and its impact on local societal wellbeing.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Poetry as Topic
/
COVID-19
/
Health Promotion
/
Music
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
Glob Health Promot
Journal subject:
Education
/
Public Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
1757975920973671
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