ArticleBMC public health2024
A qualitative study of knowledge, beliefs and misinformation regarding COVID-19 in selected districts in Zimbabwe.
Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLack of appropriate knowledge, incorrect beliefs and misinformation misleads people about the risks they face and how best to protect themselves. A study was conducted to explore the knowledge, beliefs and misinformation regarding COVID-19 in Zimbabwe.
methodsA qualitative study was conducted in September-October 2022 with a purposive sample of religious leaders, women leaders, youth leaders, health workers, village health workers, teachers, traditional healers, transporters, and the general population selected from ten sites across the country. In total there were 128 participants (30 key informants and 98 focus group discussion participants). At each site, 3 key informant interviews and one homogenous focus group discussion were conducted using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion guides, respectively. The data were recorded on audiotapes, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English. Manual thematic analysis of the data was performed.
findingsThree themes were identified in this study: (1) beliefs about COVID-19, (2) knowledge about COVID-19 (knowledge of origin, definition, transmission, signs and symptoms and recommended preventive measures), and (3) misinformation about COVID-19 (regarding its nature, existence and recommended preventive measures). There was awareness of the origin, transmission, signs and symptoms of COVID-19 among the participants. Participants reported that Zimbabwean communities were conversant with public health measures such as maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, and maintaining hand hygiene. However, misinformation was also observed to have circulated among the communities.
conclusionParticipants demonstrated good knowledge of COVID-19. However, the misinformation circulating in the country calls for the government to establish structures to monitor the legitimacy of information coming through different sources and invest in providing information through trusted sources. In any disease outbreak, the government should engage its citizenry to understand their knowledge, beliefs and any misinformation that might influence adherence to disease preventive measures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.