COVID-19 household screening: Experiences of community health care workers in South Africa

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Community Healthcare Workers (CHWs) in South Africa were integral to healthcare teams conducting household COVID-19 screenings in their communities. This study employed a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive research design to investigate CHWs' experiences during these household screenings. The study population included all CHWs deployed by primary healthcare facilities in the Vhembe District. Purposive sampling was employed to select both participants and two primary healthcare facilities located in Thulamela Municipality. Data collection involved face-to-face, in-depth, unstructured interviews, which continued until data saturation was reached after interviewing 17 participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, resulting in the emergence of several main themes: Namely, denial of access to households by community members, fear of infection, safety and security concerns, withholding of information, and withdrawal from the screening process. These findings highlight the need for further training of community healthcare workers and the communities on dealing with future health crises, such as pandemic infectious diseases, making this research significant and relevant.

Ntsieni Mashau holds the position of associate professor and serves as the Head of the Department of Public Health within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Venda. Her research interests are centered on community health, with a particular focus on both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Professor Mashau supervises postgraduate research in this area and is actively involved in various projects that promote community-based health initiatives. She has an impressive publication record in accredited peer-reviewed journals and has presented her research at both national and international conferences. Additionally, she contributes as a reviewer for articles submitted to national and international journals.