Soutien à la recherche et concours Lauréate: concours de publication avec mentorat - Concours 2020-2021 Competition - mentorship for writing a scientific paper

Félicitations à Ran van der Wal (McGill University), récipiendaire de la bourse de soutien à la publication avec le soutien d'un mentor. Elle sera soutenue par la Professeure Kate Zinszer (Université de Montréal). Congratulations to Ran van der Wal, winner of the 2020-2021 Support for writing a publication with a mentor competition. Prof. Kate Zinszer (University of Montreal) will be her mentor. 

Short presentation of the project

Situated knowledge, attitudes, practices and perceptions of COVID-19 disease and containment measures among the population in Botswana: a mixed methods study

COVID-19 is highly infectious and can cause severe morbidity and mortality. Already burdened by several public health challenges, notably HIV/AIDS, Botswana’s health system lacks the capacity to manage large COVID-19 outbreaks. Upon detection of the first cases, a 6-weeks lockdown and extreme social distancing measures contributed to effective disease containment.

After the country reopened on 22 May 2020, continued low levels of spread depend on beneficial public compliance with public health measures. Theories of behavior change claim such behavior is determined by knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP), and situated within a socioeconomic and physical context.

The aim of the publication is to explore the public’s understanding of COVID-19; prevention of disease transmission; attitudes toward individual and national prevention and containment measures, and explore what factors in their physical, social, and economic environment facilitated or impeded compliance with these measures.