‘It’s a rich people’s disease...’: Community perceptions about and responses to the coronavirus pandemic in Bangladesh

Abstract

Abstract The coronavirus pandemic has emerged as a major global social and health issue. A large body of research on this problem has largely been quantitative, epidemiological, and virological. There has been little exploration of how the general public frames this problem and how they respond to it. To address this gap, the purpose of this study is to explore community peoples' perceptions of and responses to the coronavirus pandemic within the existing sociocultural context of Bangladesh. A total of 46 semi structured interviews were conducted in a city and three remote villages located in the Khulna Division of Bangladesh in 2020. The interview transcripts were analyzed by applying Strong’s ideas about psychosocial responses to pandemics and the ‘risk’ theories of Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens. The findings showed that psychosocial responses included fear, anxiety, protective behaviors, excessive precautionary practices and widespread community-level stigma. These risk perceptions, as well as responses, were influenced by a wide variety of social, cultural, economic, educational, religious and locational factors. The findings will inform the development of more effective intervention programs by considering local cultural perceptions, beliefs and practices in relation to COVID-19.