Sociodemographic profiles
A total of 37 people participated in this study; whose demographic characteristics are provided in Table 1. Also, after analyzing the data, 70 codes, 12 subcategories, and 2 main categories were extracted (Table 2), as mentioned below followed by quotations and explanations.
Table 1 Demographic information of the participants
Participant’s No.
|
Age
|
Gender
|
Education
|
Financial position
|
1
|
31
|
Female
|
PhD
|
Very good
|
2
|
44
|
Female
|
M.A.
|
Good
|
3
|
33
|
Male
|
M.A.
|
Moderate
|
4
|
40
|
Female
|
Diploma
|
Good
|
5
|
36
|
Male
|
Junior school
|
Moderate
|
6
|
39
|
Male
|
M.A.
|
Very good
|
7
|
57
|
Male
|
Illiterate
|
Moderate
|
8
|
45
|
Male
|
Associate’s
|
Weak
|
9
|
17
|
Female
|
Student
|
Good
|
10
|
39
|
Female
|
Diploma
|
Weak
|
11
|
29
|
Female
|
Student
|
Very good
|
12
|
32
|
Male
|
B.A.
|
Moderate
|
13
|
27
|
Female
|
B.A.
|
Good
|
14
|
39
|
Female
|
PhD
|
Very good
|
15
|
30
|
Female
|
B.A.
|
Moderate
|
16
|
32
|
Female
|
B.A.
|
Good
|
17
|
25
|
Male
|
B.A.
|
Good
|
18
|
29
|
Female
|
B.A.
|
Moderate
|
19
|
55
|
Female
|
Illiterate
|
Weak
|
20
|
33
|
Female
|
PhD
|
Very good
|
21
|
29
|
Female
|
M.A.
|
Very good
|
22
|
31
|
Male
|
B.A.
|
Weak
|
23
|
41
|
Male
|
Diploma
|
Moderate
|
24
|
63
|
Female
|
Diploma
|
Very good
|
25
|
25
|
Male
|
Associate’s
|
Good
|
26
|
39
|
Male
|
Junior school
|
Very weak
|
27
|
51
|
Male
|
Diploma
|
Moderate
|
28
|
67
|
Male
|
Illiterate
|
Moderate
|
29
|
28
|
Male
|
PhD
|
Good
|
30
|
24
|
Female
|
B.A.
|
Good
|
31
|
21
|
Female
|
Associate’s
|
Good
|
32
|
27
|
Female
|
PhD
|
Good
|
33
|
45
|
Male
|
B.A.
|
Moderate
|
34
|
40
|
Male
|
PhD
|
Moderate
|
35
|
47
|
Female
|
B.A.
|
Good
|
36
|
59
|
Male
|
Associate’s
|
Good
|
37
|
48
|
Male
|
B.A.
|
Moderate
|
Table 2 Categories, Subcategories, and Codes
Categories
|
Subcategories
|
Codes
|
Barriers to perceived social support
|
Economic factors
|
Family's financial problems, the high price of disinfectant solutions, the higher price of masks, gloves, and detergents, no income during quarantine, the inability of low-income families to provide the subsistence of a month during quarantine, the inability of low-income families to pay utility bills, quarantine coinciding with the peak period when people sell things and (Holidays), rising unemployment rate, lack of smartphones in vulnerable groups for students' online classes
|
Family factors
|
Increased domestic violence among family members, the need for unemployed people during the COVID-19 pandemic for support from family members, the need for suspicious and sick people during the COVID-19 pandemic for the support from family members
|
Social and cultural factors
|
Social stigma, non-observance of social distancing and quarantine on people's behalf, people's distrust of each other
|
Individual and psychological factors
|
No personal hygiene, peoples' inability to obtain up-to-date and reliable information, blood type, low physical health, individuals' low mental health, age, fear and anxiety due to illness, fear and anxiety of famine, death, loss of family members, lack of a goal in life, despair, depression
|
Ineffective quarantine policies
|
Government's lack of support for the poor and low-income groups, non-observance of nationwide quarantine due to the outbreak of corona in China, non-imposition of quarantine in the main cities involved in the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran, delay in informing the first cases of the infections
|
Poor management
|
Weakness in managing religious places, weakness in producing and distributing disinfectants, no clear plan for the future, weakness in managing working hours and environments, failure to make decisions about the school year and the academic fate of students, unfinished school year, harms to educational levels
|
Facilitators to perceived social support
|
Family factors
|
Spending more time with family members, supporting family members
|
Individual factors
|
Increasing the level of study, training skills, increasing personal care, more access to the Internet
|
Government’s supportive policies
|
Free internet package, quarantine, monitoring, and surveillance
|
Improved job status
|
Promoting job position, improving the image of science and medical staff in the eyes of people, increasing the income based on online jobs
|
Social
|
Sharing experiences and entertainment
|
Spiritual-emotional
|
Praying, gratitude, popular aid
|
Barriers to perceived social support: With the outbreak of the coronavirus, Iran faced many problems with people receiving less social support. This category is made of sub-categories of economic factors, family factors, socio-cultural factors, individual and psychological factors, political factors, and managerial factors.
1. Economic factors: With the outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran, many businesses were shut down or remained semi-closed, and some private companies went bankrupt followed by a sharp decline in household incomes. Furthermore, many daily necessities health supplies saw a spike in prices. These issues mounted pressure on the Iranian families so that they faced many problems to make a living, such as providing necessary items for themselves, buying a mobile phone for their children for online classes, paying bills and loans. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 12: “In the quarantine period, my father lost his job as he was a self-employed man.”
Subject 7: “In the very beginning, there was a shortage of alcohol and masks. Now they are available and too expensive to be bought.”
Subject 16: “I have too little money to purchase some commodities. So, I don’t come out of the home.”
Subject 20: “The firm I was working in has just gone bust. Right now, I’m unemployed and not anticipating to return to work even after the coronavirus is gone.”
Subject 23: “When we kept our shop closed, our revenues hit zero. How can we pay our bills?”
Subject 10: “What about the children struggling to find smartphones? Neither they can listen to the teacher nor we can send their assignment to the teacher.”
2. Ineffective quarantine policies: Most of the participants stated that the government had not provided appropriate policies to prevent the virus. There were some weaknesses, such as failure to make the nation follow the quarantine properly, failure to impose a lockdown in the main cities struggling with the virus and making delays in informing the public about the infections. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 12: “The government should have imposed a lockdown in the main cities at first.”
Subject 16: “I suppose they delayed in raising awareness about the coronavirus and its potential risks for the country.”
Subject 34: “I think we would face fewer coronavirus related consequences if we were not under sanctions.”
3. Weak management: A larger share of the participants criticized the way the government handled the situation. They stated that the government and its affiliated organizations failed to provide a coherent plan regarding the management of religious places, working environments, and people's access to disinfectants, and the future of students' education. These factors caused anxiety among the people. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 10: “I wish they had a reasonable plan for our children not to get their education half-finished.”
Subject 3: “Religious sites and mosques contributed to a rise in the number of infections as they held many gatherings.”
Subject 30: “No one has a reasonable and coherent program to see what’s going to be done next. There is no clear plan for the employees. One day they come with a plan to reduce an hour of working timeline, with tomorrow returning the situation as normal. One day they come to split the number of the staffs.”
Subject 9: “What will happen to Konkoor (Nationwide examination for university)? We went halfway through.”
Subject 11: “You know, online education does not match the quality of the classroom’s education. Academic practical courses cannot be held online”.
4. Individual and psychological factors: From the view of the participants, some individual characteristics such as old age and blood type can contribute to reducing perceived social support. Psychological traits such as fear and anxiety, lack of hygiene, inability to obtain up-to-date and reliable information were also deemed to rise the fear of the virus. Excessive fear and anxiety were also found to have led to despair and depression. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 30: “It occurs to me there are many people who don’t know how to wash their hands. There are ones who do not wash their hands for twenty seconds, as they may not know this or don’t have the mood for doing so.”
Subject 37: “There are gossips everywhere, one is not sure to trust the TV news or Internet advice, they are conflicting.”
Subject 27: “This virus was developed to get rid of every old person in the world as they are making overheads to the economies.”
Subject 21: “The fact this issue is taking time is confusing me.”
Subject 22: “I wish I could get back to work any time soon as I’m quite out of the mood.”
5. Family factors: With the outbreak of the virus in Iran, many families struggled with numerous challenges. On the one hand, they had to experience a lot of economic pressure, and on the other hand, most of them were not accustomed to being together at home, resulting in tensions. Some participants were worried that their families would not be able to stand by them on difficult days. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 22: “We had a lot of quarrels at home during the quarantine period.”
Subject 27: “The kids are all angry, and I also altercate with them too.”
Subject 27: “I wish my families would understand how much pressure of being unemployed on men.”
Subject 1: “My husband says, ‘You are going to get sick and get things messed up.’
Subject 36: “If I get sick, I don’t know if I will be able to help my family or not.”
6. Socio-cultural factors: As the virus spread very easily, many people in the community were very tensed of being stigmatized and alone if they got infected. The burial process of the COVID-19 positive patients also caused many people to worry that they would have different ceremonies by the time of death and even after the ceremony. Some participants also stated that many people had not complied with the quarantine requirements. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 28: “If you have the symptoms of coronavirus, no one will come to you”
Subject 19: “I’m too much concerned to die of the virus, no one will take part in my funeral.”
Subject 20: “The issue has not yet been taken seriously. People are buying things and moving freely on the streets.”
Subject 34: “No one is to be trusted anymore. For me, all are patient unless the contradiction is proved.”
Facilitators of perceived social support: With the outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran, many people had to change their lifestyles and spend more time together. At the same time, many people recalled facilitators increasingly affecting the lives of people in the community. This category includes the following sub-categories: family factors, individual factors, government's supportive policies, improving employment, and social status.
1. Family factors: The pandemic made people stay at home. As most of the businesses and all schools and universities were closed, family members spent more time together than ever and supported each other. On the one hand, people struggling with the disease or family members infected with it had the full emotional support from their families. Most families shared their experiences with each other, and parents also cooperated with their children in their homework during school holidays while spending more time with them. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 1: “Since the coronavirus came, my husband has been at home most of the time, normally we would see him rarely.”
Subject 9: “My parents monitor us quite eagerly; I take Vitamin C pills and sometimes carrot syrup.”
Subject 10: “My mom always thinks she will die if she gets infected with the virus, God forbids. We sympathize with her most of the time and speak to her to lessen her anxieties.”
Subject 21: “Each day afternoon, at 6 p.m. I make a video call with my mom and two of my sisters to have some relief. It is as though we sit by each other. That’s very fun.”
Subject 16: “I learned cooking from my mom in this challenging period.”
Subject 14: “Now my job has become shift-based and schools are shut. So, I have more time to get around with my children.”
Subject 21: “Parents have somehow become their children’s teachers and work with them to get their homework done.”
Subject 13: “It feels great when you see the husband is constantly concerned about his wife’s health; e.g., buying masks, disinfectants, etc.”
Subject 1: “Before the pandemic, my husband rarely washed the dishes; now the situation is different and upon returning home, I see him disinfecting the dishes.”
2. Individual factors: For the participants, some individual behaviors helped to relieve the fear of the virus. Some people learned new skills, and some spent more time studying and got things done as they had more free time. On the other hand, some people were noticed spending a lot of time on the internet. In some cases, some participants said that they allotted time for improving their health and increasing their care. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 3: “I had more time for studying during the quarantine period. I’m happy about this.”
Subject 18: “I tried a couple of recipes in a month-long quarantine period. It is now the time to cook some donuts by myself.”
Subject 16: “As I had plenty of free time, I took care of my skin more than ever.”
Subject 13: “I have a lot of work to do after the pandemic. I have written a long list of things. I’m going to do after the crisis, e.g., tailoring. I need to go and learn it.”
Subject 31: “We did not wash our hands well. Now, we know all things. I have learned numerous new things about health and hygiene.”
3. Government's supportive policies: The government decided to provide free internet packages to families following coronavirus prevention and the need for individuals to comply with quarantine. It is thought that the government's actions to enforce lockdown as well as establish other preventive measures were good initiatives. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 18: “The free internet given to people was a good idea as it entertained people at home.”
Subject 6: “Though cities were locked down lately, it was better than nothing.”
Subject 14: “Social distancing was a good idea, hoping it would continue.”
Subject 31: “It was an interesting idea that we had our body temperature gaged. I also saw cars being sprayed by disinfectants at the entrance of the cities.”
4. Improving the job situation: Some participants, especially the medical staff, i.e., doctors and nurses stated that their employment status had become better in such a way that led to an improved employment status after the government had promised to change the status. Therefore, they got more stability in their professions. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 18: “The government has promised to employ the nurses working in COVID-19 wards. That’s a very good idea. I am a member of the hospital management team. Our prestige has improved. I think coronavirus caused people to change their views for the medical staff.”
Subject 6: “We are waiting to get the vaccine and drugs. All eyes are on the scientists to see what they have for us.”
5. Social aspect: The features of the coronavirus disease helped many people in the community to share their experiences with others. Some participants also mentioned that people shared various hobbies in cyberspace during the pandemic, i.e., they created challenges and games for fun. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 4: “All are posting training on various websites and online pages, ranging from recipe training, such as making of donuts to home-made yogurt.”
Subject 1: “We demand everyone introduce whatever book s/he has read online or share it for the rest.”
Subject 17: “Every time I open Instagram, a new challenge is on, such as a laughing challenge. We are busy working with this stuff.”
6. Spiritual-emotional: According to the participants, the coronavirus crisis made many people more engaged in spiritual affairs. Some recalled that they had paid more attention to spirituality and prayer than ever before, and some participants noted their gratitude for the health care staff. During this period, many people stepped up to help others by providing aids to their compatriots. Thus, low-income and vulnerable groups were helped in this pandemic. Here are some of the participants' remarks in this regard.
Subject 19: “I think I prayed most in this period than ever before.”
Subject 10: “May God helps us all.”
Subject 36: “I have committed myself to pay alms though none of my family members were infected with the coronavirus.”
Subject 24: “We collected many aids for the poor people in deprived areas, i.e., both edibles and disinfectants.”
Subject 32: “Now people acknowledge the medical staff for the first time. Before, they were complaining of them.”
Subject 18: “We are somehow inculcated in the peoples’ minds, and this helps remove the fatigue we are having. People and my relatives were quite encouraging at this time. They were constantly concerned about us and colleagues.”
Subject 19: “When we were said that a country had developed the drug for the coronavirus, it felt great, and I prayed to God.”