Perceptions and Coping Strategies to COVID-19 in a Rural Ghanaian Community

While rural communities are vulnerable and at risk to coronavirus, there is, however, scarcity of information on how such communities perceive and respond to the pandemic. This chapter adopted a qualitative descriptive phenomenology to investigate the perceptions and coping strategies to the coronavirus pandemic in a rural Ghanaian community. Both purposive and snowball sampling techniques were employed to select 40 participants for interviews, in addition to overt observation. Findings show that participants have knowledge of coronavirus, which they reported to spread through interhuman transmission. Symptoms, such as difficulty in breathing, dyspnea, fever, sore throat, and dry cough, were perceived to be associated with coronavirus. The pandemic has disrupted sociocultural norms and activities, such as funerals and burials, in the community. Results further show that wearing nose masks, regular washing of hands, and applying sanitizer have been adopted as precautionary measures in the community. In addition, traditional measures, such as bathing nyanya leaves (Momordica foetida), sniffing local snuff, and drinking solution from the bark and leaves of neem trees (Azadirachta indica) as well as drinking local alcohol, sobolo (Hibiscus sabdariffa), and a mixture of ginger, garlic, and lemon solution, have been adopted. This chapter recommends intensification of coronavirus education, especially in rural communities.