Perceptions regarding CIVID-19 among public and their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: a qualitative study.

Research Report.

ABSTRACT: Introduction: The COVID-19 is a newly diagnosed infectious disease of pandemic nature. The government of Nepal is implementing different strategies ranging from national lockdown to strict travel restrictions in order to prevent the spread of the disease. The perception among the people regarding the disease is a key factor that influences people's behavior towards the disease including the uptake of preventive and curative health services. Furthermore, understanding its perception among people would help the government to plan appropriate strategies. So, this study intends to explore the perception of people towards COVID-19 and their experiences during the pandemic in Nepal. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted among the people from diverse backgrounds in Kathmandu, Kanchanpur, Bajura, and Jhapa districts of Nepal. Eight focus group discussions and 40 in-depth interviews were conducted by using a maximum variation sampling method. Colaizzi's phenomenological analysis method was adopted to analyze the data. Results: The themes generated are as follows: About COVID-19, prevention of disease, source of information, expectation and challenges, and effects of COVID-19, social distancing and lockdown. People possessed good knowledge about COVID-19 and they believed that the use of masks, sanitizers, handwashing, and proper lockdown would help to prevent the disease. They also expressed vital role of media in increasing awareness. However, misinformation spread by some media, in addition to lack of social interaction, isolation, economic loss had some psychological impacts. Challenges perceived were: Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), unprepared health system, higher expectations from the public, poor quarantine management, and violation of lockdown. Conclusions: There is a need to provide adequate knowledge and the right information by the media to reduce misinformation regarding COVID-19. The awareness campaign, need for professional psychological counseling, systematic lockdown, the supply of adequate PPE, and strengthening the health system would reduce the impact of COVID-19 among people in the long run.