Participatory action research to co-design a culturally appropriate COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement strategy in rural Pakistan

Frontiers in Public Health

Public Health

Victoria Hall Moran¹  Marena Ceballos-Rasgado¹  Mukhtiar Zaman²  Salman Ahmad³  Sadia Fatima⁴  Usman Mahboob⁵  Michael McKeown⁶ 

[1] Centre for Global Development, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom;Department of Pulmonology, Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar, Pakistan;Department of Sociology, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan;Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan;Institute of Health Professions Education and Research, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan;School of Nursing, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom;

关键词: participatory action research;    COVID-19;    risk communication and community engagement;    health promotion;    infectious diseases;    global health;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2023.1160964

 received in 2023-02-07, accepted in 2023-04-05,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCommunity engagement has shown to be fundamental component of the response to previous disease outbreaks. This study aimed co-design and implement a culturally appropriate COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement strategy with a resource-poor rural community in Northwest Pakistan.MethodsParticipatory Action Research (PAR) was conducted from January 2021 to March 2022. Five PAR meetings took place with community members (n = 30) to: (1) explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the community; (2) identify challenges to limit the spread of the virus; (3) identify and implement solutions to these challenges; and (4) highlight the enablers, challenges and knowledge of the cultural context needed to optimize safety during emergencies. Focus group discussions (N = 6) with community members not involved in the PAR meetings (N = 50) and children of the community (N = 26) were conducted following the PAR meetings. Thematic analysis of the PAR and focus group data was conducted.ResultsDelivery of messages on how to keep families safe, provision of personal protective equipment and improved water systems were part of the strategies taken by the community to create awareness and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Nine themes were identified: Attitudes to the pandemic: From skepticism to acceptance, Changing attitudes about vaccination: rumors and trust, COVID-19 and Faith, Social impact of the pandemic, Access to water, Resource mobilization: personal protective equipment, Spaces where collaborative effort can bring to solutions, Agents of change, and Empowerment of women.DiscussionThe participatory approach of this research allowed understanding of the challenges faced by the community to engage in behavior change strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and enabled the community to find sustainable solutions. Engagement with the community empowered men and women to be agents of change and promoted necessary precautionary actions to reduce the risk of infection within their community.ConclusionParticipatory approach highlighted the importance of engaging with and integrating to local culture and values to overcome challenges such as gender imbalance and distrust. Findings of this study are relevant to others working in diverse cultural settings in similar crises events regardless of particular cultural variations.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Moran, Ceballos-Rasgado, Fatima, Mahboob, Ahmad, McKeown and Zaman.