Role of social capital in response to and recovery from the first wave of COVID-19 in Thailand: a qualitative study

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study assesses the role of social capital among people and communities in response to the first wave of the pandemic in 2020.DesignQualitative study using focus group discussions.SettingCapital city (Bangkok) and the four regions (north, northeast, south and central) of Thailand.Participants161 participants of 19 focus groups with diverse backgrounds in terms of gender, profession, education and geography (urban/rural; regions). They are selected for different levels of impact from the pandemic.FindingsThe solidarity among the Thai people was a key contributing factor to societal resilience during the pandemic. Findings illustrate how three levels of social capital structure—family, community and local networks—mobilised resources from internal and external social networks to support people affected by the pandemic. The results also highlight different types of resources mobilised from the three levels of social capital, factors that affect resilience, collective action to combat the negative impacts of the pandemic, and the roles of social media and gender.ConclusionSocial capital plays significant roles in the resilience of individuals, households and communities to respond to and recover from the impacts of the pandemic. In many instances, social capital is a faster and more efficient response than other kinds of formal support. Social capital can be enhanced by interactions and exchanges in the communities. While face-to-face social contacts are challenged by the need for social distancing and travel restrictions, social media steps in as alternative socialisation to enhance social capital.

Could home management of COVID-19 cases alleviate strain on the fragile healthcare system in Damascus, Syria: a prospective cohort study

“…Similar scenarios were reported in countries with similar dramatic deterioration of the socioeconomic situation, such as the neighbor Lebanon 10 . The shift to public sector hospitals intensi ed the needs and created further shortages in supplies and personnel, which resulted in exaggerated mortality rates during hospitalization 21 . As a result, public fear increased, and the motivation to present to emergency rooms diminished, creating a preference for home visits 10 .…”

“…Nevertheless, this issue should not affect the overall robustness of our ndings for three reasons. First, diagnostic tests were also not available for a signi cant proportion of hospitalized patients in Damascus public hospitals due to a shortage of supplies and poor coordination between COVID-19 centers 21 . Second, mortality and respiratory failure rates were not signi cantly different between patients who were diagnosed based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) gold standard and those who were admitted merely based on their clinical presentation 21 .…”

“…This prospective cohort study was conducted in Damascus and its suburbs between August and September 2020, covering the second half of the rst COVID-19 wave in Syria 21 . It recruited patients who were home managed by the Syrian Medical Team (SMT) after complaining about COVID-19-like symptoms.…”

“…The immense ow of cases in the Syrian capital during this period was beyond the hospitals' capacity, and many patients with mild to moderate cases were denied admission due to either lack of availability or the need to prioritize more severe cases. In addition, the shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds and mechanical ventilators as well as the poor management of personnel and supplies led to a soaring mortality rate 21 , which demanded supportive outpatient solutions to contain the situation.…”

COVID-19 Pandemic and Positive Ageing

“…For this reason, social capital is a more attractive analytic tool to the World Bank and other multilateral institutions interested in community projects such as eradicating poverty (Prakash, 2010). For similar reasons, social capital rather than the social network has been frequently used in recent studies of how communities respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Samutachak et al, 2023). A survey of seven European countries has found that a one-standard-deviation increase in social capital led to between 14% and 34% fewer COVID-19 cases per capita accumulated from mid-March until the end of June 2020, as well as between 6% and 35% fewer excess deaths per capita (Bartscher et al, 2021).…”