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Community engagement in COVID-19 prevention: Experiences from Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania

Mboya, Innocent Baltazar LU orcid ; Ngocho, James Samwel ; Mgongo, Melina ; Samu, Linda Philip ; Pyuza, Jeremia Jackson ; Amour, Caroline ; Mahande, Michael Johnson ; Leyaro, Beatrice John ; George, Johnston Mukiza and Philemon, Rune Nathaniel , et al. (2020) In Pan African Medical Journal 35(Suppl 2). p.1-8
Abstract

Prevention of exposure to the COVID-19 virus in the general population is an essential strategy to slow community transmission. This paper shares the experiences and challenges of community engagement in COVID-19 prevention in the Kilimanjaro region, Northern Tanzania implemented by our team from the Institute of Public Health (IPH), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo) in collaboration with the COVID-19 response team in the Moshi Municipality. We conducted an education session with the COVID-19 response team and together brainstormed transmission hotspots and which interventions would be most feasible in their settings. The first hotspot identified was crowded local market spaces. Suggested interventions included... (More)

Prevention of exposure to the COVID-19 virus in the general population is an essential strategy to slow community transmission. This paper shares the experiences and challenges of community engagement in COVID-19 prevention in the Kilimanjaro region, Northern Tanzania implemented by our team from the Institute of Public Health (IPH), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo) in collaboration with the COVID-19 response team in the Moshi Municipality. We conducted an education session with the COVID-19 response team and together brainstormed transmission hotspots and which interventions would be most feasible in their settings. The first hotspot identified was crowded local market spaces. Suggested interventions included targeted and mass public health education through the engagement of market opinion leaders, public announcements, and radio shows. We conducted participatory rural appraisal techniques to enable market vendors and clients to visualize two-meter distances and provided a prototype hand-washing facility that was foot operated. We found mass public health educational campaigns essential to inform and update the public about COVID-19 pandemic and to address rumors and misinformation, which hampers compliance with public health interventions. Coordinated efforts among stakeholders in the country are necessary to develop context-specific prevention and case management strategies following the national and international guidelines. Local ownership of recommended interventions is necessary to ensure compliance.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Community engagement, Community response, COVID-19, Experiences, Kilimanjaro, Public health, Tanzania
in
Pan African Medical Journal
volume
35
issue
Suppl 2
article number
146
pages
1 - 8
publisher
African Field Epidemiology Network
external identifiers
  • scopus:85096272875
  • pmid:33193961
ISSN
1937-8688
DOI
10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.146.24473
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © Innocent Baltazar Mboya et al.
id
c9c93265-4459-42dd-b9df-7ec6b04990f2
date added to LUP
2022-09-29 10:06:14
date last changed
2024-06-14 22:33:12
@misc{c9c93265-4459-42dd-b9df-7ec6b04990f2,
  abstract     = {{<p>Prevention of exposure to the COVID-19 virus in the general population is an essential strategy to slow community transmission. This paper shares the experiences and challenges of community engagement in COVID-19 prevention in the Kilimanjaro region, Northern Tanzania implemented by our team from the Institute of Public Health (IPH), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo) in collaboration with the COVID-19 response team in the Moshi Municipality. We conducted an education session with the COVID-19 response team and together brainstormed transmission hotspots and which interventions would be most feasible in their settings. The first hotspot identified was crowded local market spaces. Suggested interventions included targeted and mass public health education through the engagement of market opinion leaders, public announcements, and radio shows. We conducted participatory rural appraisal techniques to enable market vendors and clients to visualize two-meter distances and provided a prototype hand-washing facility that was foot operated. We found mass public health educational campaigns essential to inform and update the public about COVID-19 pandemic and to address rumors and misinformation, which hampers compliance with public health interventions. Coordinated efforts among stakeholders in the country are necessary to develop context-specific prevention and case management strategies following the national and international guidelines. Local ownership of recommended interventions is necessary to ensure compliance.</p>}},
  author       = {{Mboya, Innocent Baltazar and Ngocho, James Samwel and Mgongo, Melina and Samu, Linda Philip and Pyuza, Jeremia Jackson and Amour, Caroline and Mahande, Michael Johnson and Leyaro, Beatrice John and George, Johnston Mukiza and Philemon, Rune Nathaniel and Muro, Florida and Renju, Jenny and Msuya, Sia Emmanueli}},
  issn         = {{1937-8688}},
  keywords     = {{Community engagement; Community response; COVID-19; Experiences; Kilimanjaro; Public health; Tanzania}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{Suppl 2}},
  pages        = {{1--8}},
  publisher    = {{African Field Epidemiology Network}},
  series       = {{Pan African Medical Journal}},
  title        = {{Community engagement in COVID-19 prevention: Experiences from Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.146.24473}},
  doi          = {{10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.146.24473}},
  volume       = {{35}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}