Table 1.
Participant characteristics, sources of information, and responses to COVID-19; n = 213 unless otherwise specified
| Variable | Median, [IQR] or n, (%) |
|---|---|
| Gender | |
| Female | 153 (72) |
| Male | 60 (28) |
| Ethnicity | |
| Black | 212 (99.5) |
| White | 1 (0.5) |
| Age, years | 35 [29–43] |
| Education level at baselinea | |
| Primary school or less | 13 (6) |
| Some high school | 100 (47) |
| Matric | 84 (39) |
| Tertiary | 16 (8) |
| Employed at baseline | 82 (39) |
| Ability to take HIV medication | |
| Very poor, poor, or fair | 0 |
| Good | 10 (5) |
| Very good | 34 (16) |
| Excellent | 169 (79) |
| Any barriers to health careb | 42 (20) |
| Any competing needs at baseline | 27 (13) |
| Distance to clinic, kilometers | |
| < 5 | 108 (51) |
| 5–10 | 64 (30) |
| > 10 | 40 (19) |
| Unknown | 1 (0.5) |
| Years since initiation of ART at time of COVID-19 interview, n = 206 | 2 [1–4] |
| Chronic conditions - any one or more of: hypertension, diabetes, asthma | 7 (3) |
| Sources of information on COVID-19c | |
| Radio | 158 (74) |
| Television | 156 (73) |
| Clinic materials/staff | 46 (22) |
| Social media | 28 (13) |
| At work | 24 (11) |
| Friends/family | 22 (10) |
| Newspaper/news website | 17 (8) |
| Posters | 11 (5) |
| DOH/Government website | 6 (3) |
| Other | 25 (12) |
| COVID-19 medical mistrust summary score, n = 144d | 9 [6–13] |
| COVID-19 stigma summary score, n = 207 | 2 [0–5] |
| Recommended daily activitiese changed due to COVID-19 | |
| None | 43 (20) |
| 1 activity | 39 (18) |
| ≥ 2 activities | 131 (62) |
DOH Department of Health
aAccording to the South Africa National Department of Education, ‘some high school’ refers to having started high school but not completing through Grade 12; tertiary level refers to any type of education pursued beyond the high school level. This includes diplomas, undergraduate and graduate certificates, and associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees
bAny one or more barriers to health care in the categories of service, financial, personal health, logistical, or structural. All other respondents reported no barriers to care
cMultiple answer choices allowed
d69 participants were missing data for one or more component questions of the medical mistrust summary score
eActivities falling within the recommendations of the South Africa National Department of Public Health including physical distancing (avoiding large gatherings, not hugging other people, avoiding people who present with symptoms, avoiding public transport, not going outside), wearing masks, hygiene (washing hands, not touching face, using hand sanitizer frequently)