The development of a Coronavirus 2019 prevention and transmission model in communities, Trang province: The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Effective control measures for Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) would reduce the spreading of the virus in the community. This action research was aimed to develop and evaluate the efficacy of the COVID-19 prevention and transmission model in communities in Trang province, Thailand. Participants included a total of 15 local governmental officers, healthcare providers, politicians, leaders, and village health volunteers (VHVs) and 372 local residents.  Data were collected using group discussions, participant observations, and the Perceptions of Self-care During the COVID-19 Pandemic questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis.  The results showed that the prevention and control measures for COVID-19 were comprised of four phases. Phase one, the preparation phase, included providing knowledge, communications, medical supplies, and quarantine accommodations. The second phase was the implementation phase, which involved screening people who had traveled across provincial borders from high infection-rate red-zone areas, transferring their data to healthcare centers, and advance surveillance. The third phase consisted of the evaluation of the interventions implemented in the second phase. The fourth phase was reflection on what did, or did not work well in the first three phases. In the third phase, we found there were no new COVID-19 cases found in the communities during this project. The local residents had an excellent overall mean score for COVID-19 perception (M = 2.70, SD = 0.34) and had a good overall mean score for self-care behaviors (M = 3.74, SD = 0.91). The fourth, reflection, phase revealed that the factors leading to the success of the program were awareness and cooperation among the networks, receiving valid news and information on time, and community preparation, both before and after the disease was detected, to enhance confidence about living together in the community.