A qualitative study of knowledge, beliefs and misinformation regarding COVID-19 in selected districts in Zimbabwe.

Background: Lack 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.

Methods: A 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.

Findings: Three 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.

Conclusion: Participants 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.