ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Capturing the baseline information on awareness, practices, and prevailing myths related to the ongoing coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic in rural India will help in planning interventions to improve the health literacy on COVID-19. The aim of the study was to assess the level of awareness, practices, and myths regarding COVID-19 among rural population of Kolar district in South India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A concurrent mixed-methods study with a quantitative community-based cross-sectional analytical design and a qualitative phenomenological design was conducted in five randomly selected villages during June 2020. A prevalidated and pretested semi-structured questionnaire was administered to one adult in the households selected using systematic random sampling to capture the sociodemographic details and their awareness, practices, and myths related to COVID-19. The supervisors additionally and concurrently used a nonparticipant observation technique to record the real-time behaviors and preventive practices adopted by the villagers. Quantitative analysis was done using STATA and included multivariable regression analysis, and the association was reported using prevalence rates along with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Qualitative analysis was done manually as per discussion and concordance among supervisors and reported as categories along with supporting statements. RESULTS: Among the 298 respondents, "poor awareness" was seen in 128 (43.0%, 95% CI: 37.5%-48.6%). Among the responders, 89 (29.9%) believed in the myth that "Corona disease is due to God's wrath or curse." The field observations were categorized under three categories - "avoidance of masks," "nonexistent social distancing," and "rampant spitting." CONCLUSION: About two in five villagers were found to have "poor awareness" to COVID, and practices related to COVID were found to be largely unsatisfactory. Lower level of education and belonging to nuclear family were associated with "poor awareness." Various myths were identified that has to be debunked on priority basis by the government, especially targeting the people having low level of education in rural India.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: In a developing country like India, a proportionately higher number of elderly people live in the rural areas and many of them are financially challenged. Hospitalization and consequent cost thereto pose a heavy burden especially for the elderly. OBJECTIVE: Among elderly in.patients at a tertiary care rural hospital to estimate the average number of episodes of hospitalizations, duration of stay in the hospital, and the direct and indirect costs associated with hospitalizations with 1 year as a reference period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A structured pre.tested questionnaire was used to capture the details regarding hospitalizations and the costs involved and also the hospital records were verified for the current hospital admission to finally arrive at the direct and indirect costs calculations. Quantitative details like age, episodes of hospitalization in the last 1 year, duration of hospitalization, hospitalization costs, etc., were summarized as median (inter.quartile range [IQR]). Costing analyses were noted separately as direct, indirect, and total costs and expressed in Indian National Rupees (INR). RESULTS: The total number of episodes of hospitalization among the 150 study participants was 204 with a mean of 1.36 episodes per person in 1-year duration. The average total cost per episode of hospitalization was found to be INR 11,249 while the average total cost per person per day was INR 1,670.30. The median (IQR) direct and indirect costs were INR 6,222 (3,060-12,670) and INR 690 (200-700), respectively. CONCLUSION: Duration, as well as cost of hospitalization, has been found to be more among females in most age groups among elderly in.patients.
ABSTRACT
Objectives There is a lack of evidence about the difficulties faced by the villagers and the mechanisms they adopt to cope with the ongoing coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this study, we tried to explore the various stressors experienced by the villagers and the coping mechanisms. We also tried to document the future strategies that could be adopted to address the current pandemic situation. Methods An exploratory, descriptive qualitative study was conducted in five purposively selected villages in the Kolar district of South India. We conducted face-to-face in-depth interviews among nine key informants, including personnel across various health, education, and administrative domains. Two investigators carried out a manual descriptive content analysis to identify the codes and categories under three broad themes. A hybrid approach was used for coding the respondents' views in the most appropriate words/phrases. Results A total of 146 codes were identified and grouped into 19 different categories under three broad domains viz. 'stressors', 'coping strategies' and 'suggestions for future actions' for the existing COVID-19 pandemic. The stressors mainly were due to household level problems like finance management and familial disruptions. Coping mechanisms adopted include social capital, government support, judicial resource management, child marriages and apathetic attitude. The suggestions for future actions included an emphasis on the involvement of gram panchayats, adoption of the 'stay in village' concept, better communication framework and financial pooling for future exigencies. Conclusion The stressors due to COVID among villagers were mostly related to household level issues. The mechanisms adopted to cope up with the stressors included both positive and negative mechanisms. The suggestions for future actions mainly emphasized the involvement of gram panchayats.
