A key objective of the ALERTs study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) in slum communities. Overall, we found that knowledge of the symptoms, transmission and prevention of COVID-19 was generally high. However, this had not translated into the required behavioural change. Infact there were high and varied levels of non-adherence to the different guidelines as illustrated in Table 1 below:
Mapping data onto the COMB model
Barriers: Individual, community, system/facility and national/policy level
Physical Capability
Kampala slums are densely populated and crowded settings. The average household size is between 5-10 people, who typically share very tiny spaces like one or two roomed houses. This makes preventive measures like social distancing extremely difficult to abide by. The excerpts below illustrate this further:
It can’t be possible in a home. There are some people that sleep 3 on a mattress. Do you think social distance is possible in such a setting? We are so congested and we can’t observe social distance in this area (Female participant, Kataba)
Social distance cannot work because of the nature of our community. We share taps, latrines [toilets], shops, and we survive from our neighbours so we share even the smallest things like match boxes and soap. So social distance cannot work for this congestion in Kataba (Mixed community FGD, Kataba)
The community’s living arrangements were confirmed by the leaders:
Social distancing is very difficult because you will find someone in one roomed home when they are 7 or 8 in that one-roomed house (Government leader, Makindye Division)
We have two categories like those with families and then the young single people. You will find several renting many of them. But also, we have people like those from the North or Eastern part of Uganda who can stay like ten people in a single room. This is their way of life (Community leader, Kataba)
The community leader’s excerpt above provides insight into some of the reasons for the slum congestion, including affordability among a particular population demography [young or single] and sociocultural norms. The majority of study participants confirmed COVID-related unemployment and lack of incomes as a primary barrier and root cause for the population’s non-adherence to preventive measures:
The reason we find that many people here are congested is because so many are unemployed. You can find someone just goes to a friend’s shop and sits there all day long just like the ones that used to work in the bars. If they were all given back their jobs they would care more knowing it’s their business but now since it’s not their job they don’t care much about observing the guidelines like social distance (Youth Girls FGD, Kataba).
Non-adherence to the preventing measure regarding wearing facemasks was due to a number of reasons including the masks not being available or of good quality, being too small to comfortably wear, the belief that they do not protect from COVID-19, low perception of risk driven by lack of exposure to actual cases, the belief that COVID-19 was just a hoax and the perceived availability of alternative protective options:
Like me, I have a problem of allergy, I cannot breathe so well when I put on a mask but because it’s an “order from above” I am forced to put on. But I can’t do it all day, then there are people who are asthmatic. That’s why some other people don’t put on masks because they are tiresome. So, they prefer putting Uganda Waragi [local alcohol] in their hands and face to remain safe. They say if a person coughs and sneezes, the alcohol on the face and hands won’t let it survive (Male, Parents FGD in Ki-Mombasa).
What is not realistic is telling us to put on masks because there are places where you meet without masks and where you have to shake hands because you know each other… masks don’t even save anybody from getting the virus... we ourselves would be in better way to protect ourselves. They gave us substandard masks, some are small, they squeeze the ears, the nose, we have like 6 each and even if I brought them for you, you could see that [they are very small and uncomfortable]. The person who can wear that government mask the whole day deserves a reward (FGD with men, Kataba)
Wearing a mask in Kataba is still a challenge because the masks the government gave out were small and uncomfortable… although we have also had politicians spreading propaganda that COVID doesn’t exist, and the hoax thinking started with them that” if COVID truly exists why aren’t people dying?” Like I told you we [government] gave out the masks but people don’t use them. Even if you go through the community you will not find people putting masks on (Community leader, Kataba).
Adherence to movement restrictions was rendered almost impossible by the need to secure livelihoods and food security. In slum communities, most people’s jobs are located in crowded settings and require a physical presence, movement and human interaction. Pandemic restrictions heightened the need for food and other basic needs for survival which had significantly reduced in most communities due to lack of income from pandemic-related unemployment and business closures. People had to make some difficult decisions regarding food and livelihoods, inevitably contravening SOPs:
In this corona families are broken down because of poverty. The husband leaves home because of misunderstandings, he simply cannot stay there because there are many quarrels at home. Since there is no income some people have found challenges paying rent to their landlords so they can’t stay home, they must move and look for what to eat (VHT, Kataba)
During the lockdown very many people needed food. They had not been working and the interventions of food distribution by the government did not reach every homestead, so …. people rushed back to work and cared more about their survival than the SOPs (Implementing Partner/IP NGO, Ki-Mombasa)
Psychological Capability
The lack of sufficient and accurate information about the pandemic, especially at its onset, significantly contributed to the community’s non-adherence to preventive measures. Nearly all community study participants reported not having witnessed a COVID-19 case and so did not believe it was real. This was partly because of the nature of facility-based COVID-19 management, where suspected or confirmed cases were promptly isolated and/or quarantined outside of the community. As a result, many people held many beliefs including that the pandemic was a political gimmick and a hoax during the political election season, an invented “cash cow” for unscrupulous government officials bent on getting money from potential donors. A lot of information was reported to have been received from the media especially social media which, showed high fatalities in western countries other than Africa. Based on this some study participants believed that the African race was immune to the disease suspected to be a form of depopulation ploy by racial supremacists. Moreover, prevention messages did not seem to have sufficiently educated and informed the masses regarding the pandemic. These myths, falsehoods and local beliefs are illustrated in the excerpts below:
The challenge with us Africans is that we believe by seeing… so when people learn that somebody has died of COVID-19, they then take it seriously. They hear of people dying in other countries but haven’t seen anyone dying here in Uganda. They see that and believe that their blood is different from others and we are stronger since we are Africans (Local leader, Kawempe)
Many of them were refusing to accept it has come to Uganda. They thought it was a political stunt and that the president was the one trying to control people. I tried hard to show especially the elderly ones that if this disease is killing people in our neighbouring countries then it sure wont spare us since we are all human. Unfortunately, people still up to now believe that after elections we won’t have this disease anymore (Security Personnel, Ki-Mombasa).
Personally, I have not seen a covid patient with my eyes, only on TV. … we protect ourselves by wearing masks, washing our hands, keeping social distancing as you have been announcing on TV, as a preventive measure, but still we are doing that without knowing what we are preventing. It is like you put on a condom knowing your preventing yourself from HIV, but here we wash hands, but you don’t know where it is going to come from. If it is airborne and was targeted for Africa, even if you wash hands and the legs and your partner sleeps at a distance, still you will die. This is an air borne thing. Why don’t you wash the noses because they are the ones that inhale? Hands don’t inhale, how do you tell me to wash hands when I am using the nose to inhale? This is comedy, because I am using my nose to breathe, Covid 19 is designed to depopulate us (Male participant, Kataba)
As part of Uganda’s national response, Ugandans had multiple, and sometimes contradictory, message centers regarding COVID-19 infection. In addition to behavioural communication messages sent through the mainstream media, local communities received messages from law enforcement officers (the police), Village Health Team (VHT) members, community leaders, politician, and locally operating NGOs. This diversity in messaging and messengers was reported to have confused people who did not know what to believe or follow.
They talk about it [the pandemic] but it’s hard to believe, because the president says this today and the doctors say another thing. So, we don’t know what to believe and what not to believe. The majority have given up on corona and they no longer care. T hose who cares will just use local herbs to treat it, after all it is one of the things, they are telling us to do (Parents FGD, Ki-Mombasa)
Reflective Motivation
Beliefs regarding perceived risk entailed the perception that certain population categories are more at risk than others. For example, children and young people were generally not regarded as high-risk groups, so there was a laxity in targeting them with information to ensure adherence in this group. This was exacerbated by prevailing myths and falsehoods regarding the COVID-19 infections as well as limited exposure to actual cases:
They still think that maybe COVID-19 is a myth, it’s a political thing. Then you realize that there are a number of youths in the slum areas and youth think that they're still strong enough so they can fight the disease. They also think that the disease is for the elderly, people who have co-morbidities and all that (Local government official, Makindye Division)
It hasn’t been easy because when you are educating them about COVID they ask you “who has died of it?” so they got tired of the prevention message so it hasn’t been easy (Village Health Team /VHT member, Kataba)
The period between 2020 and 2021 was a political season in Uganda. Since it coincided with the pandemic the community was highly suspicious of the intentions of the political leaders. Highest among the suspects was the ruling government, it contested for continued leadership which had already span a period of over three decades, it was accused of using COVID-19 as an excuse to decimate the opposition’s political campaigns. While corruption is a well-documented vice in Uganda, the public was concerned that designated enforcers of preventive measures, such as the police and other security personnel, were more interested in collecting bribes from those caught contravening SOPs than supporting implementation of the national COVID-19 response. As a result, the motivation to comply with preventive guidelines was extremely low:
We have these laws but they are not followed … enforcers arrest you then you pay them to release you and those that fail to pay are the ones they detain (Community member, Ki-Mombasa).
So, like 70% of the people think Covid is not there because it has been politicized by the leaders. The same people in leadership like the president and ministers conduct campaigning rallies with many people and they made people think it was all a lie. In this period of campaigns, you find the politicians coming to do rallies and they gather people, give them incentives without even minding about social distancing and other SOPs (Youth Leader IDI, Ki-Mombasa).
People know about COVID but they also have this propaganda that it is all a lie. Who spreads the propaganda that COVID is a lie to these people? Politics, it’s just that they are people who don’t like the ruling government so whatever they tell us is a lie to them. So, when politics came in, and they saw that the ruling party doesn’t care much about COVID, people started having doubts. Also, when even the Minister of Health Dr. Acing herself went back to her area to campaign, in the middle giving us the SOPs of COVID on national television, she didn’t show an example to us. That means there are in for their political gains to get money that was being given to countries affected with COVID. So, people begun to take the COVID issue lightly (Community Leader, Kataba)
Automatic Motivation
Study participants reported the fear and shame to seek help or healthcare for suspected cases as a major barrier. Initially people with related symptoms were advised to report to health facilities for medical attention or call a toll-free line. However, there was a lot of stigma and anxiety surrounding testing, isolation and subsequent quarantine processes which was more like a “black box” with limited public awareness with cases were managed away from the community. This led to fear of ostracization for suspected or confirmed cases the study findings showed that some people did not report or seek care as expected. This implied that that some hitherto preventable transmission was inevitable and enabled by the culture of silence. The fear of receiving a confirmed positive result after testing meant that some cases remained undetected and continued to spread into the community:
We had someone we suspected to have the virus because he had just arrived from Dubai and we were questioned as to why we couldn’t call the Ministry of Health yet we had the Tollfree numbers. The people also feared to be taken into isolation as contacts to this person that’s why they did not make the call (Youth Girls FGD, Kataba).
Social Opportunity
Related above, the stigma associated with testing positive for COVID-19 seemed to outweigh the benefits of practicing healthy and preventive behaviour such as testing, seeking medical care, correctly and consistently wearing facemasks or social distancing. Participants did not think that anyone would sympathize with them, they would be perceived to have “broken the rules in the first place” reason they caught the virus. In addition, sociocultural norms acted as barriers to prevention. For example, guidelines like social distancing were a diversion from deeply cherished sociocultural norms, particularly those deemed essential when affected by disasters such as a pandemic. Rituals like greeting, touching, hugging and eating together with a loved one in trouble or in pain are highly regarded as therapeutic and socially connecting. Therefore, a number of people were not entirely comfortable to abandon their cherished practices in a situation where they were even deemed essential.
There are things that can change and there are those that cannot change. Things like hugging and shaking of hands are no longer done much but as people from the East like the Bisaya, Alurs and Acholi we eat together and it’s our culture (Community leader, Kataba)
Related to this innate need to socialize and connect was peer pressure and social desirability. Study participants highlighted the need to fit in with peers and other groups deemed important to them, even though some of norms were not compatible with preventive guidelines. For example, many youths were not wearing face masks since they wanted to fit in and not be perceived as deviant, this affected the overall mask wearing practice. In addition, politicians on the campaign trail tried to show their electorate that they were not “scared” of them even when not protected with masks or distance in an attempt to display unity as “one” during vote canvassing. Moreover, many local leaders and enforcers of preventive guidelines were themselves not adhering to the guidelines. The police action of arresting those contravening the regulations and loading them in a crowded prison cells without any protection was also counterproductive and contributed to an increased case load.
Our leaders have done nothing in regards to that [prevention]. They are not leading by example, because even at their homes there are no hand washing facilities which they want us to have. They are the ones also moving around with no masks on, even the police who come to arrest others they be there having no masks. And you see how politicians are going to their campaign rallies without anything on for themselves or their supporters. Sincerely how can you take these people seriously? (FGD Community, Kataba)
Other notable barriers were religious in nature where preventive guidelines were in disharmony with people’s religious beliefs or the need to congregate for fellowship. For example, the Muslim community reported that use of alcohol-based sanitizers was favored by their community. Although the religion factor was noted to be double-edged facilitating adherence in some aspects of the pandemic. For example, some communities’ religious practices (specifically Islam) were aligned to COVID-19 preventive guidelines like swift burial, covering the face or masking, frequent handwashing and maintaining overall hygiene.
Physical Opportunity
As already highlighted among the barriers for physical capability, the living arrangements and household setup in slums presented massive impediments for adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. Overcrowded households and intense social mixing as a way of life made it impractical for physical distancing. There is also a likelihood that this close contact state resulted in high infection rates in a very short time. Furthermore, slum settings generally have inadequate WASH infrastructure, limited resources, risky livelihoods and extremely low access to healthcare:
Most of the people here rent so they share the toilet facilities and water sources. Unless the landlord is able to build more toilet structures, very many people use a single toilet. And also, we have many prostitutes in here Kataba so they would not really mind social distance when they are looking for customers (VHT, Kataba)
Our place here is a ghetto. In a ghetto, we grow up as one family. You eat together, move together, so it is difficult to tell a friend you have stayed with for over 20 years that you extend and keep distance, yet we have grown up with that solidarity of brotherhood, that oneness. Secondly, looking at the ghetto setting, we stay close to each other, it is one door after the other. Immediately you step out of your room, you bump into a friend and greet them. So, it is so hard to maintain social distances (Youth FGD, Ki-Mombasa)
There are some places where you go and find many people but without a jerrycan of water to wash hands. There are water points where they fetch water. Of course, many of them do not have water connected to their homes. Even if there is a tap, many of them have to go to the same tap. Then some of them share toilets and bathrooms. As for the masks, some even take weeks without wearing them (Local Government Official, Makindye Division)
In summary, the slum communities of Ki-Mombasa and Kabalagala-Kataba reported several barriers that hindered adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. These barriers are illustrated, across components of the COM-B model, in Figure 2 below:
Despite these seemingly intractable barriers, there were a number of community members who adhered to COVID prevention measures. Reported adherence facilitators are summarised in Figure 3 below alongside the barriers expounded further in Table 2:
Table 2: Barriers and facilitators of adherence to COVID preventive measures in Uganda’s urban slums
Note: Some barriers overlap (e.g. health system level factors have both community and policy angles)
Facilitators
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Barriers
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Psychological Capacity
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Individual, household, community level
• Increasing knowledge and awareness through intensified sensitization and behavioural change communication (BCC) campaigns
• Progressive interface with COVID-19 (C-19) cases, and extensive profiling by the media
Policy level
• Clear SOPs and guidelines e.g. on screening, testing, isolating, quarantining, referral and management of patients
• Ongoing information sharing on C-19, SMS message prompts
|
Individual, household, community level
• Community perceptions, assumptions, myths and falsehoods
• Limited provider knowledge about the epidemiology and management of C-19, and treatment options (at onset)
Policy level
• Limited practical guidance and information sharing, especially for public lower level health facilities (LLHFs)
• Lack of guidance and/or trust in the intentions and actions of government
• Framing of BCC messages was not designed with slum communities in mind – e.g. social distancing was impractical
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Physical Opportunity
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Individual, household, community level
• Mass distribution of free masks by government and partners
• Relief and food distribution to some vulnerable households
• Intensified WASH campaigns, more infrastructure and locally-driven equipment
Policy level
• The way the national C-19 response was organised (equipping higher level health facilities to manage cases)
|
Individual, household, community level
• Ill-fitting masks and related discomfort
• Existing health conditions e.g. asthma and other breathing complications
• Limited WASH infrastructure and tools e.g. soap and water
Policy level
• Shortages in health workforce
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Social Opportunity
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Individual, household, community level
• Social norms and culture (positive) e.g. dresscode for women, handwashing and swift burial among Muslims
• Some influencers led by example e.g. local celebrities and leaders
Policy level
• Targeted BCC campaigns and periodic updates
• Quick resource mobilisation from various stakeholders in all forms
|
Individual, household, community level
• Social norms and culture (harmful in light of C-19)
• Limited supplies (PPEs), space and certain services at health facilities
Policy level
• Institutional / organisational culture and longstanding practice norms, encouraged by policy e.g. referral vs. case management at health facilities
• Case management required separation of loved ones which people loathed and it limited utilisation of healthcare services
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Reflective Motivation
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Individual, household, community level
• Increasing risk perception with rising cases
• Belief that adherence to “the more-feasible” guidelines is protective
• High confidence – from skills-based training and higher-level cadre, raised self-esteem and empowerment as well as confidence to support community-based surveillance teams
Policy level
• Targeted messaging along the way e.g. for children and youth
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Individual, household, community level
• Limited exposure to C-19 cases (at onset)
• Myths, falsehoods, social media, infodemic
Policy level
• Policy approach to health system preparedness: Focused and phased approach to response meant that LLHFs and HCW had no knowledge, basic supplies, capacity, experience or resilience
• Feasibility: Some guidelines not feasible and perceived to be unrealistic in crowded slum settings
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Automatic Motivation
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Individual, household, community level
• Increasing community transmissions and registered deaths
• Limited health system capacity and complex referral process
• Policy push for home-based care model
Policy level
• Rewards and incentives – protection for self and others; the inconvenience of punishment for being caught in contravention (jail, bribes, beatings)
• Handouts – mask distribution, food distribution
• Feedback and periodic information sharing with service providers across the health system level motivated them to continue enforcing adherence in their areas of jurisdiction
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Individual, household, community level
• Fear of infection and perception of risk – that community would infect them (police helpful in enforcing) and that HCWs are at risk
Policy level
• Testing and isolation/quarantine approach – testing results take long creating more anxiety; and procedure once confirmed positive made people feel uncomfortable
• Limited availability and proximity, high cost for testing
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Physical Capability
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Individual, household, community level
• Training: Some HCWs had acquired skills-based training, including simulation and were prepared to handle any C-19 case or emergency
Policy level
• History of managing epidemics and existing infrastructure in some health facilities.
• Study sites relative proximity to equipped high level health facilities, including national referral hospitals
• HF level in light of Uganda’s health system design; especially referrals
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Individual, household, community level
• Lack of appropriate and sufficient training and skills
• Limited supervision and support from for LLHFs
• Shortage of PPEs and other critical equipment/supplies, health care workers were not operating optimally
• Infrastructure and general health facility preparedness – spacing, ventilation, staffing for different (triage, isolation)
Policy level
• Health system design and preparedness (across the blocks)
• The mode of enforcement / enforcer interpretation and implementation approach – mostly top down and involving uncoordinated multiple power centres
• Context – the political season and leaders not leading by example
• Testing – uncomfortable, costly
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Psychological Capability
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Individual, household, community level
• Increasing knowledge, awareness and education – as C19 info became more aware
• Goodwill from the HCWs – irrespective of their lamentable working conditions
Policy level
• President’s leadership and direct involvement – combination of carrot and stick approach
• National policy and health system design - both a barrier and facilitator; double edged.•
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Individual, household, community level
• National policy and health system design (tiered with a strong referral component, equipped based on level and complexity of cases)
• Design of the national covid response (decentralised and functional taskforces with multiple stakeholders including non-health (political leaders, law enforcement, etc)
Policy level
• National policy and health system design - both a barrier and facilitator; double edged.
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Cross-cutting Factors
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• Engagement of community and local leaders
• Sensitisation and addressing stigma, especially by local leaders
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• Limited confidence and anxiety on LLFs facilities to effectively manage C-19 cases
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