Men risked COVID-19 infection
Tom Ketlogetswe | Monday April 24, 2023 06:00
The research, which was conducted in Botswana and Malawi, was from people who tested positive for COVID-19 between March 2020 and January 2022. According to the report, the purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive map of COVID-19 vulnerability risk factors as they relate to gender, race, disability, socio-economic demographics, income, ethnicity, and concomitant non-communicable diseases.
The study also found that people living in poverty and with disability were much more vulnerable to getting COVID-19 than people who could afford better living conditions, such as not living in crowded spaces, affording to buy masks and sanitisers and even hospitalisation fees. The study further revealed that mortalities were highest for the oldest age group (75+ years), followed by 65-74 years and 55-64 years. In Botswana, the study was led by Professor Oitshephile Modise of the University of Botswana.
She was assisted by Professor Olekae Thakadu and Dr Hesekia Garekae (all from UB) and Professor Rebecca Lekoko of Botswana Defence Force. The study used a variety of tools such as interviews, questionnaires and government databases to capture each of the variables in individuals aged 21 or over. In Botswana, the study focused on the Greater Gaborone Zone as defined by the then COVID-19 administrative tools.
The report further states that a dataset of risk exposure of almost 88,000, extracted from the Ministry of Health and Wellness spanning March 20, 2020 to January 2, 2022 was used. In addition, researchers developed and administered survey tools to 292 respondents in January 2022 and face to face interviews to 495 participants in March 2022. In Malawi 258 self-administered questionnaires were used.