Community Management for Caring People with COVID-19 Infections

Abstract

This qualitative research aimed to study the community management for caring people with COVID-19 infections. The data collection was administered through observations, in-dept interviews, and document studies. Triangulation was employed to verify the reliability of data. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The informants included 50 persons including 1 physician, 4 nurses, 1 public health officer, 1 nurse working in the municipality, 36 village health volunteers (VHV), 2 volunteers, and 5 former COVID-19 patients. The informants’ age ranged between 25 and 60 years old.

Results: the management for caring people with COVID-19 infections were 1) family doctor clinic made some adjustments of their services such as providing health risk assessments, separating treatment zones, providing medication deliveries, referrals, and home visits, using telemedicine and other technologies, providing mobile COVID-19 vaccination services, and health services in prison; 2) municipal government participated in providing COVID-19 vaccines in the communities, issuing isolation certificates for patients and risk groups, performing outreach screenings, managing environments and make an action plan; 3) community sector including VHVs and community volunteers helped delivering both news and medication as well as coordinating with any services in their communities; and 4) religious organizations including temples and churches supported locations for vaccination while follow the measures. Management barriers included fatigue among staffs due to increased workloads, overloaded with fake news, and referrals were limited. Success factors included participations, coordination, accurate public relations, and abilities among personnel. Suggestions for public health sectors should collaborate well with local authorities and information for public should be clear, correct, and responsible. Staff training especially in preparing for emerging diseases and improving health literacy in population are recommended in the future.