24 Aug 2020

Batswana have been encouraged to take part in the COVID-19 survey that seeks to determine individuals’ knowledge, attitude, practices and behaviour regarding the pandemic.

In an interview, Dr Poloko Kebaabetswe of Heritage Research Solutions, an organisation that specialises in research said the survey, approved by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, was conducted in collaboration with Serowe Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) and Mahalapye, Serowe and Palapye District Health Management Teams (DHMTs).

Dr Kebaabetswe explained that the survey was also designed to research about  perceptions, practices and behaviour about COVID-19 and information gathered would be used for the purposes of the study.

She said they had targeted 1 500 people countrywide and findings would guide the health ministry as well as relevant stakeholders to formulate and adopt appropriate and evidence-based preventive measures, strategies and interventions that would mitigate the impact of COVID-19.

“After realising that many different organisations and individuals were contributing in different ways to the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt an urge to also contribute,” she said.

Dr Kebaabetswe, a retired health practitioner, said she knew that frontliners had sacrificed a lot by contributing their time, energy and further risking their lives to help in the fight against COVID-19 hence her decision to take part via the survey.

She indicated that she then co-opted other health professionals who were not in the forefront to also assist and contribute to the study.

“The survey monkey link will be used in the survey and it will be shared mostly through cellular phones where one would send to their contacts after answering the survey questions. 

We will also conduct a focus group discussion to involve key people in the community such as Dikgosi and councillors in the survey,” she added.

She explained that the survey also aimed to identify main barriers to adoption of key behavior in preventing COVID-19 as well as assess how the containment or lockdown strategy affected community’s access to services, social and cultural practices.

Again, she said the survey sought to determine individuals’ attitude and community members towards those who had tested positive for COVID-19 positive and their contacts post quarantine.

It further aimed to make recommendations for improving prevention and management of COVID-19.

To participate in the survey, the public is encouraged to log on to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T3XJPCG or https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9TD3MMH for the English and Setswana versions respectively.

On the other hand, Dr Kebaabetswe lamented that they were unable to carry out some of the survey activities because of insufficient funds and thus appealed to companies for financial support. 

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