Perceptions and practices on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) in a Bouaké prayer camp in Côte d’ivoire

Abstract

The barrier measures of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), particularly involving the total containment of Greater Abidjan and th e closure of borders, have caused social dysfunction in places of worship. In Bouaké, a town in central Côte d'Ivoire, spirituality in the clinical practice of the mentally ill has gained renewed interest at the Rehoboth prayer camp in Séssenoua. The study aims to analyze perceptions relating to COVID-19 and the impact of religious prescriptions and conceptions on attitudes and preventive practices among actors in the prayer camp. For it, interviews were administered to 70 actors of the prayer camp including managers, patients, their parents and visitors. It emerged from this analysis that the lack of resourceful and reliable information associated with the proliferation of rumors explains the ignorance of the modes of transmission of COVID-19 by the actors of the prayer camp. In terms of preventive measures for COVID-19, the results also revealed that they are perceived as factors distorting and altering religious rituals during worship and prayers. It is important that state authorities become aware of these social and psychological impacts and above all, integrate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of faith-based and local communities into preventive measures in the face of COVID-19.