A grounded theory study on COVID-19 prevention and planning support in typical communities of China

Abstract

COVID-19 broke out at the end of 2019, and China achieved remarkable results in COVID-19's prevention and control. Till May 2021, the epidemic has been controlled in China. Community prevention and control play a key role. To clarify the planning impact mechanism of epidemic prevention and control at the community level in China. This paper proposes a grounded theory research method and conducts in-depth interviews with residents, managers, and merchants in typical communities in China. Three different epidemic scenarios (none, mild, and moderate or severe) have been studied for community epidemic prevention and control from the perspective of behavior compliance and planning support. Through the process of open coding, axis coding, and selective coding, 84 concepts, 18 subcategories, and 5 main categories were obtained. Finally, from the five aspects of "residents' needs", "epidemic compliance behavior ", "community governance", "multiple scenarios application" and "public facilities and planning", the paper puts forward the planning support model and five core factors of epidemic prevention and control. It is found that in three different epidemic scenarios, users' functional needs, and behavior choices for life circle are also different, including business types and travel modes. China's community epidemic prevention and control can be used as a successful example. The conclusions of this study provide theoretical support for promoting community epidemic management and community planning worldwide.