COVID-19 epidemiological, sociological and anthropological investigation: study protocol for a multidisciplinary mixed methods research in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Background The world has high hopes of vaccination against COVID-19 to protect the population, boost economies and return to normal life. Vaccination programmes are being rolled out in high income countries, but the pandemic continues to progress in many low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) despite implementation of strict hygiene measures. We aim to present a comprehensive research protocol that will generate epidemiological, sociological and anthropological data about the COVID-19 epidemic in Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa with scarce resources. Methods We will perform a multidisciplinary research using mixed methods in the two main cities in Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso). Data will be collected in the general population and in COVID-19 patients, caregivers and health care professionals in reference care centers: (i) to determine cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Burkinabe population using blood samples collected from randomly selected households according to the WHO-recommended protocol; (ii) develop a score to predict severe complications of COVID-19 in persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 using retrospective and prospective data; (iii) perform semi-structured interviews and direct observation on site, to describe and analyze the healthcare pathways and experiences of patients with COVID-19 attending reference care centers, and to identify the perceptions, acceptability and application of preventive strategies among the population. Discussion This study will generate comprehensive data that will contribute to improving COVID-19 response strategies in Burkina Faso. The lessons learned from the management of this epidemic may serve as examples to the country authorities to better design preventive strategies in the case of future epidemics or pandemics. The protocol was approved by the Ministry for Health (N° 2020-00952/MS/CAB/INSP/CM) and the Health Research Ethics Committee in Burkina Faso (N° 2020-8-140).

The burden of the coronavirus disease 2019 virus infection in Burkina Faso: Results from a World Health Organization UNITY population‐based, age‐stratified sero‐epidemiological investigation

“…Each study participant completed a questionnaire as previously described by Traoré et al 20 to collect socio‐demographic characteristics (age, profession, marital status, level of education and socio‐professional category), prior medical history (history of cardiovascular and thrombo‐embolic disease [arterial hypertension, rhythm disorders, cardiomyopathy, deep venous thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism]), history of metabolic diseases (diabetes mellitus and kidney failure), history of pulmonary disease (tuberculosis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]) and other relevant medical history. The questionnaire also asked about lifestyle habits: tobacco and alcohol consumption, clinical signs of COVID‐19 (fever [temperature ≥38°C], cough, dyspnoea, etc.)…”

Using Google Health Trends to investigate COVID-19 incidence in Africa

“…These three countries also ranked within the top 10 when looking at the total number of mobile cellular subscriptions in a country and GDP ( S1 Table ). Conversely, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, and Sudan are lower-income countries, and have struggled to combat COVID-19 [ 50 – 52 ]; according to World Bank data, they ranked lower than the top-ranking countries in terms of total number of mobile cellular subscriptions in a country ( S1 Table ). Furthermore, while four out of these six countries had an extremely low percentage of individuals using the Internet (< 20% as of 2017), we found no clear association between GHT patterns and Internet accessibility variables, which may indicate that the way Internet access is currently measured reflects GHT behavior poorly.…”

Using Google Health Trends to investigate COVID-19 incidence in Africa

“…These three countries also ranked within the top 10 when looking at the total number of mobile cellular subscriptions in a country and GDP (Supplementary table 1). On the other hand, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, and Sudan are lower-income countries, and have struggled to combat COVID-19 [50,51,52]; according to World Bank data, they ranked lower than the top-ranking countries in terms of total number of mobile cellular subscriptions in a country (Supplementary table 1).…”

“…These three countries also ranked within the top 10 when looking at the total number of mobile cellular subscriptions in a country and GDP (Supplementary table 1). On the other hand, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, and Sudan are lower-income countries, and have struggled to combat COVID-19 [50, 51, 52]; according to World Bank data, they ranked lower than the top-ranking countries in terms of total number of mobile cellular subscriptions in a country (Supplementary table 1). Furthermore, four out of these six countries had an extremely low percentage of individuals using the Internet (< 20% as of 2017), which may indicate that the way Internet access is currently measured reflects GHT behavior poorly.…”