Dear editor: Health measures to protect against Covid-19 are the main tool to curb infections,1 yet misinformation and different cultural perceptions could be one obstacle towards this aim. This is especially the case of marginalized areas, especially indigenous populations.2 After applying an extensive survey (N= 1 000) among young people (15-18 years old) from marginalized areas of the Southeastern state of Chiapas, we found that a large part of the study population: believed in the existence of the disease, knows the main symptoms and some contagion mechanisms (table I). Moreover, they also believed that the disease had a conspiratorial origin which may explain why they showed low care in sanitary measures against contagion. For example, a substantial number of respondents (48%) wore masks, engaged in social distancing (60%) or avoided attending meetings (65%). Furthermore, 43% of the study population felt highly threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic and feared for their local economy (37.19%). Related to the later, the most frequent feelings detected were fear (68%) and worrying (48%). These public actions and perceptions of the pandemic can help us understand the underlying factors in community decision-making for health care. We believe that there are two major challenges facing this pandemic in marginalized and rural areas: 1) the population’s mistrust of the authorities and 2) misinformation and the prevalence of false ideas that can undermine efforts to adopt preventive measures.3 Although changing the behavior of a society is difficult, creating motivational strategies and tools can render a positive impact. Given this, young people can play a strategic role in the response to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 by being in contact with scientific knowledge and their close relationship with new digital sources and social networks (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, among others) that can serve as dissemination platforms.
Indigenous (%) |
Non-indigenous (%) |
p value |
|
Covid-19 existence |
86.9 |
91.3 |
0.037 |
Signs/symptoms | |||
Fever |
63.7 |
78.6 |
<0.001 |
Breathing difficulty |
61.2 |
84.4 |
<0.001 |
Headache |
52.3 |
52.1 |
0.947 |
Dry cough |
48.7 |
50.8 |
0.53 |
Transmission mechanisms | |||
Sneeze |
56.5 |
43.5 |
0.002 |
Saliva |
53.4 |
46.6 |
0.002 |
Contaminated surfaces |
59.3 |
40.8 |
0.527 |
Conspiratorial origin |
66 |
66.7 |
0.929 |