Political and Religious Impacts on COVID-19 Responses in Tanzanian Healthcare Facilities: A Qualitative Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a virus-related illness that affects the respiratory system, first appeared in Wuhan province, China, in December 2019. By mid-January 2020, cases of COVID-19 were reported in numerous Asian countries, signaling the beginning of a global health crisis. Within a mere four months, the virus had spread to all continents. A qualitative cross-sectional survey was conducted from 24 August to 3 October 2022 among healthcare workers in the Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Dodoma, and Mwanza regions. A total of 96 participants were involved from 24 healthcare facilities in all four regions. Individual interviews and key informant interviews were recorded using the Kobo Toolbox and analyzed thematically. The study revealed that many participants felt that politics misled society rather than educating. The way healthcare workers in Tanzania expressed their views on the impacts of politics in fighting the outbreak of COVID-19 was found to threaten the safety of healthcare workers and general public health. A significant number of healthcare workers also expressed that religion hurt the fight against COVID-19 in their facilities and the general society. However, A few health workers believed that religion had a positive influence, while others felt that it had advantages and disadvantages depending on its application. In Tanzania, politics and religion misled the community to a large extent rather than educating it. Clean politics and good religious practices should be used when fighting pandemics such as COVID-19.