Coping strategies adapted by Ghanaians during the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown: A population-based study

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic and control measures adopted by countries globally can lead to stress and anxiety. Investigating the coping strategies to this unprecedented crisis is essential to guide mental health intervention and public health policy. This study examined how people are coping with the COVID-19 crisis in Ghana and identify factors influencing it. Methods This study was part of a multinational online cross-sectional survey on Personal and Family Coping with COVID-19 in the Global South. The study population included adults, ≥18 years and residents in Ghana. Respondents were recruited through different platforms, including social media and phone calls. The questionnaire was composed of different psychometrically validated instruments with coping as the outcome variable measured on the ordinal scale with 3 levels, namely, Not well or worse, Neutral, and Well or better. An ordinal logistic regression model using proportional odds assumption was then applied. Results A total of 811 responses were included in the analysis with 45.2% describing their coping level as well/better, 42.4% as neither worse nor better and 12.4% as worse/not well. Many respondents (46.9%) were between 25–34 years, 50.1% were males while 79.2% lived in urban Ghana. Having pre-existing conditions increased the chances of not coping well (aOR = 1.86, 95%CI: 1.15–3.01). Not being concerned about supporting the family financially (aOR = 1.67, 95%CI: 1.06–2.68) or having the feeling that life is better during the pandemic (aOR = 2.37, 95%CI: 1.26–4.62) increased chances of coping well. Praying (aOR: 0.62, 95%CI: 0.43–0.90) or sleeping (aOR: 0.55, 95%CI: 0.34–0.89) more during the pandemic than before reduces coping. Conclusion In Ghana, during the COVID-19 pandemic, financial security and optimism about the disease increase one’s chances of coping well while having pre-existing medical conditions, praying and sleeping more during the pandemic than before reduces one’s chances of coping well. These findings should be considered in planning mental health and public health intervention/policy.

Relationship Between COVID-19 Related Knowledge and Anxiety Among University Students: Exploring the Moderating Roles of School Climate and Coping Strategies

“… Li et al (2021) discovered that students who adopted coping strategies which focused their attention on solving the problem experienced lower levels of psychological distress. Iddi et al (2021) also revealed that individuals who were concerned about their safety amidst COVID-19 coped very well. Other studies have also shown that religious coping was associated with COVID-19 related anxiety ( Chow et al, 2021 ; Yıldırım et al, 2021 ; Zarrouq et al, 2021 ).…”

“…While facing these unprecedented emergencies and institutions striving to enhance the safety of the school environment (i.e., positive school climate), students could rely on their personal resources to cope with events they may perceive as challenging or threatening ( Peters and McEwen, 2015 ; Peters et al, 2017 ; Alsukah et al, 2020 ). Prior research has shown that coping strategies of persons are related to their level of anxiety and stress (see Main et al, 2011 ; Lyons et al, 2016 ; Iddi et al, 2021 ; Li et al, 2021 ). Li et al (2021) discovered that students who adopted coping strategies which focused their attention on solving the problem experienced lower levels of psychological distress.…”

“…Whereas some studies have revealed negative relationship (see Du et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Zhai and Du, 2020 ), others have found a positive relationship (see Wolf et al, 2020 ) as well as no relationship (see Lin et al, 2020 ). This inconsistency is primarily so because other variables such as school climate and coping strategies have the potency to distort the relationship (see Germani et al, 2020b ; Lin et al, 2020 ; Iddi et al, 2021 ; Li and Lyu, 2021 ; Li et al, 2021 ; Šrol et al, 2021 ). Besides, no study till date has explicitly tested these moderation effects and concurrently measured these research variables in one research design.…”

The Effect of Socio-Demographic Factors in Health-Seeking Behaviors among Bangladeshi Residents during the First Wave of COVID-19

“…HSBs of the developing nations would allow for the identifying and prioritizing resource-efficient disease management approaches to control the spread of COVID-19 in their countries [ 37 ]. Likewise, it is essential to identify the coping strategy to deal with the challenging circumstances associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or other health crises [ 38 ]. The utilization of coping strategies and HSB is influenced by different factors such as demographics, gender, pre-existing health conditions, type of employment, education level, ethnic practices, and disease patterns [ 39 , 40 , 41 ].…”

Do COVID-19 and Food Insecurity Influence Existing Inequalities between Women and Men in Africa?

“…It is also worth noting that individuals interviewed were mainly university staff, employed, and living in an urban setting, which does not necessarily give an accurate representation of the situation, as surveys would not have represented more vulnerable populations such as rural subsistence farmers, women-headed households or individuals that are not highly educated. Iddi et al reported that 12% of Ghanaians surveyed through an online questionnaire about stress levels linked to well-being felt stressed about the possibility of getting COVID-19, thus causing food insecurity [ 21 ]. The study group was mainly composed of young people (56% under 34, 86% under 44, and 44% having no children), 79% lived in urban Ghana, 98.7% possessed a post-secondary education level, and 72% were employed by the government.…”