Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe global impacts since its emergence in December 2019. Control and prevention strategies in Brazil included measures such as social distancing and mask-wearing. However, the spread of misinformation, especially on social media, promoted the irrational use of unproven medications, highlighting the need for proper medical guidance and combating misinformation. This study aims to analyse the information, knowledge, and experiences of users and workers in a specific territory of the municipality of Salvador, Bahia, during the COVID-19 pandemic.This is a qualitative exploratory study using Bardin's content analysis to investigate the perceptions of users and healthcare workers regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from July to August 2023 through interviews conducted at the Humberto Castro de Lima Family Health Unit, with participants selected using the snowball sampling technique until data saturation was reached. A data collection instrument covered categories such as pandemic experiences, COVID-19 information, and protective practices. The data were transcribed, categorized, and qualitatively analyzed, following the ethical guidelines of Resolution No. 466/2012. Analysis of the motivations for seeking preventive treatment revealed significant differences between healthcare workers and service users. While fear of death related to the disease was the primary motivation for healthcare workers (50%), service users more frequently cited the belief that the treatment contained a milder form of the disease (63.64%). Various sources of guidance, especially the media (TV, internet, magazines) and social networks (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook), indicate a substantial influence of these channels on forming opinions about treatments, underscoring the importance of targeted educational strategies to combat misinformation during the pandemic. The results highlight the urgency of a multidisciplinary approach to addressing the challenges of the pandemic, including the spread of misinformation and the inappropriate use of medications. Collaboration between healthcare workers, communicators, and civil society is crucial for a more effective response to public health crises.
