A survey of patient and public perceptions and awareness of SARS-CoV-2-related risks among participants in India and South Africa

ABSTRACT

A cross-sectional survey was performed among the adult population of participating countries, India and South Africa. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions and awareness of SARS-CoV-2-related risks in the relevant countries. The main outcome measures were the proportion of participants aware of SARS-CoV-2, and their perception of infection risks. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data via a web- and paper-based survey over three months. For data capturing, Microsoft Excel was employed, and descriptive statistics used for presenting data. Pearsons Chi-squared test was used to assess relationships between variables, and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. There were 844 respondents (India n=660, South Africa n=184; response rate 87.6%), with a 61.1% vs 38.3% female to male ratio. Post-high-school or university education was the lowest qualification reported by most respondents in India (77.3%) and South Africa (79.3%). Sources of information about the pandemic were usually media and journal publications (73.2%), social media (64.6%), family and friends (47.7%) and government websites (46.2%). Most respondents correctly identified infection prevention measures (such as physical distancing, mask use), with 90.0% reporting improved hand hygiene practices since the pandemic. Hesitancy or refusal to accept the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was reported among 17.9% and 50.9% of respondents in India and South Africa, respectively. Reasons cited included rushed vaccine development and the futility of vaccines for what respondents considered a self-limiting flu-like illness. Respondents identified public health promotion measures for SARS-CoV-2. Reported hesitancy to the up-take of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines was much higher in South Africa. Vaccination campaigns should consider robust public engagement and contextually fit communication strategies with multimodal, participatory online and offline initiatives to address public concerns, specifically towards vaccines developed for this pandemic and general vaccine hesitancy.