Role of community participation on covid-19 epidemics: a national-based interventional study

Abstract Background Community participation can be very effective in crisis situations like the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the effectiveness of community engagement in this pandemic is not well studied, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Objective To evaluate the role of this community-based intervention on covid-19 epidemics outcomes in Iran. Methods Three categories of interventions (supportive, caring, and supervisory) were carried out using volunteer forces, organized in neighborhood-based teams during the Covid-19 epidemic in Iran started in November 2020. The evaluation was conducted 4 months later. Different data resources, including information on outpatients, hospitalizations, and medical care monitoring center (McMc) were employed. The basic reproductive rate (R0) was calculated, and other statistical-epidemiological analyzes such as time series, Regression analysis, and Basic generator size were also used. Results Deaths per day declined from 479 to 75 within the study period. R0 decreased from 1.26 to 0.86. PCR tests reached from 661 to 1601 /100000. The incidence rate of the disease reached 0.2 per hundred thousand people to 0.05 per hundred thousand people. The number of hospitalizations from Covid-19 decreased from 3044 to 417 before and after the community-based interventions. Conclusion Epidemic management when combined with community participation can be very effective in crisis situations. Strengthening the disease care system and more supervision in the implementation of the strategy and having an effective relationship with the doctors of the private sector to comply with the national protocol, an effective step will be taken towards the control of this disease and finally its elimination.