Representations of COVID-19: the pandemic in the context of international commuting migration from mining.
Lise Maria Carvalho Mendes, Antonio Sabino da Silva Neto, Nayara Gonçalves Barbosa and 3 others
PMID 37992302WHAT IT FOUND
Ten miners saw COVID-19 as a disease of outsiders, older adults, or cold places, not themselves.
They learned through WhatsApp and TV, and said police and illegal mining blocked health care.
Key findings
01Miners described COVID-19 as a disease that belonged to other people, especially older adults, cold places, or people with low immunity, not to themselves.
02Participants said they learned about COVID-19 mainly from social networks, cell phone applications, friends, relatives, television news, and videos shared on WhatsApp.
03Participants said illegal mining and border police made it hard or impossible to seek care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 10 miners from a border area were interviewed, so their views may not represent miners in other places or groups. Recruitment used existing contacts, which may have selected people already known to the research team. Interviews were remote because of the pandemic, so researchers could not observe daily life in mining sites. The study did not test any health communication or outreach method, so it cannot show what would change care. Participants were illegal miners, so fear of police and inability to observe conditions may limit what they could say.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that miners were safe or that any health education approach works. The study only reported how 10 miners understood COVID-19 and access; it did not measure infection outcomes or test an intervention.