How Did the Village Community Perceive and Draw Strategies Against the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Qualitative Exploration.

Objectives There is a lack of evidence about the difficulties faced by the villagers and the mechanisms they adopt to cope with the ongoing coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this study, we tried to explore the various stressors experienced by the villagers and the coping mechanisms. We also tried to document the future strategies that could be adopted to address the current pandemic situation. Methods An exploratory, descriptive qualitative study was conducted in five purposively selected villages in the Kolar district of South India. We conducted face-to-face in-depth interviews among nine key informants, including personnel across various health, education, and administrative domains. Two investigators carried out a manual descriptive content analysis to identify the codes and categories under three broad themes. A hybrid approach was used for coding the respondents' views in the most appropriate words/phrases. Results A total of 146 codes were identified and grouped into 19 different categories under three broad domains viz. 'stressors', 'coping strategies' and 'suggestions for future actions' for the existing COVID-19 pandemic. The stressors mainly were due to household level problems like finance management and familial disruptions. Coping mechanisms adopted include social capital, government support, judicial resource management, child marriages and apathetic attitude. The suggestions for future actions included an emphasis on the involvement of gram panchayats, adoption of the 'stay in village' concept, better communication framework and financial pooling for future exigencies. Conclusion The stressors due to COVID among villagers were mostly related to household level issues. The mechanisms adopted to cope up with the stressors included both positive and negative mechanisms. The suggestions for future actions mainly emphasized the involvement of gram panchayats.