Impacts of and survival adaptations to the COVID-19 pandemic among the hill tribe population of northern Thailand: A qualitative study

Abstract

Background COVID-19 has exerted a variety of impacts on people, particularly people with limited education living in poor economic settings. This study investigates the impacts of and adaptations to COVID-19 among the hill tribe people of northern Thailand. Methods A qualitative method was used to elicit information from key informants who lived in a hill tribe village in Mae Fah Laung district, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Fourteen questions on two issues were used to gather information, and an NVivo program was used to extract the findings. Results A total of 57 hill tribe villagers participated, including 36 females and 21 males (mean age of 50.1 years, min = 20 and max = 90). Twenty-seven individuals were Thai Yai, 14 were Yunan Chinese, eight were Akha, and eight were members of other minor tribes. Regarding education and occupation, 30 individuals were illiterate, while 27 had attended different levels of primary school; 40 individuals were unemployed, 13 were employed as daily wage workers and farmers, and the other 4 were attending school. Three age categories were used to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: impact of access to the educational system among the young, loss of jobs and family financial problems among the working, and access to medical care for the elderly. Six adaptation stages in response to the COVID-19 crisis were observed among the hill tribe people: shock stage with no prior experience, looking for help from health and other agencies, considering the national lockdown policy, complying with prevention and control measures, reducing stressful situations and following the new normal approach, and addressing suffering points at home and elsewhere. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted different impacts on different age categories among the hill tribe population living in remote and border areas. Effective adaptations have been implemented to address the new normal life under the disease, and six adaptation stages have been identified that have helped them survive the greatest threat to humankind today.

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“…Without opportunities for interaction and communication, the tribal elders stayed home for long periods, which changed their everyday routines. With less social interaction, some elders began to experience depression and loneliness, which can negatively affect health (Chang 2022;De León-Martínez et al 2020;Kaplan et al 2020;Suratana et al 2021). The care providers described:…”

“…Furthermore, Suratana et al (2021) conducted qualitative interviews to examine how tribal villagers in Mae Fah Laung, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, adapted to COVID-19. Their study revealed that the adaptation process was comprised of six phases: (1) feeling shock due to a lack of experience, (2) seeking help from health agencies and other groups, (3) considering adopting mainland Thailand's lockdown policy, (4) complying with preventative and control measures, (5) reducing stress and following new norms, and (6) solving problems at home and elsewhere.…”

“…Various rural tribes in Mexico (De León-Martínez et al 2020) could not respond to and prepare for the pandemic because they lacked knowledge about the virus, infrastructure (e.g., water), and network resources, and experienced language barriers. As other qualitative studies have indicated (Kaplan et al 2020;Suratana et al 2021), they were forced to comply with the prevention, control, and lockdown policies implemented in their countries, which isolated many older tribal members from the outside world, thereby threatening their health.…”