Marco J Haenssgen, Elizabeth M Elliott, Sandra Bode, Ounkham Souksavanh, Thongkhoon Xayyahong, Hironori Okabayashi, Shogo Kubota
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Community engagement has been recognized as a key tool for supporting national health agendas, and experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic can offer important lessons for tackling future global health challenges such as antimicrobial resistance. This paper provides much-needed evaluation knowledge on relational community engagement initiatives and their impact on COVID-19-related attitudes and practices.
Methods: A two-round mixed-method evaluative study to examine outcome indicators related to COVID-19-prevention and health-seeking behavior was implemented from October 2022 to December 2023 among 14 diverse case study communities in four Lao provinces. Data involved 50 semi-structured interviews with villagers, 50 key informant interviews, and two rounds of complete census surveys (3,161 survey observations incl. matched panel data from 618 individuals) to discern outcomes among villagers with different levels of activity participation in a difference-in-difference analysis.
Results: Relative to non-participating villagers, villagers participating in the activities had higher COVID-19 vaccine uptake (+0.13 doses), higher public healthcare utilization for presentations consistent with COVID-19 (e.g. fever and neurological and/or respiratory symptoms; +69.4% points), and less antibiotic use per illness episode (-0.2 antibiotic use episodes). However, the activity raised worries to disclose a COVID-19-positive status and was often interpreted as a health education campaign.
Conclusions: Relational community engagement offers a respectful way of addressing persistent healthcare challenges and supporting vulnerable populations - and thus holds key for ongoing global health priorities such as emerging infectious disease responses and antimicrobial resistance. We recommend that community engagement initiatives become a standard component of national health policy portfolios beyond the scope of COVID-19.
期刊介绍：
Global Health Action is an international peer-reviewed Open Access journal affiliated with the Unit of Epidemiology and Global Health, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umeå University, Sweden. The Unit hosts the Umeå International School of Public Health and the Umeå Centre for Global Health Research.
Vision: Our vision is to be a leading journal in the global health field, narrowing health information gaps and contributing to the implementation of policies and actions that lead to improved global health.
Aim: The widening gap between the winners and losers of globalisation presents major public health challenges. To meet these challenges, it is crucial to generate new knowledge and evidence in the field and in settings where the evidence is lacking, as well as to bridge the gaps between existing knowledge and implementation of relevant findings. Thus, the aim of Global Health Action is to contribute to fuelling a more concrete, hands-on approach to addressing global health challenges. Manuscripts suggesting strategies for practical interventions and research implementations where none already exist are specifically welcomed. Further, the journal encourages articles from low- and middle-income countries, while also welcoming articles originated from South-South and South-North collaborations. All articles are expected to address a global agenda and include a strong implementation or policy component.
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