Abstract

JAREGO, Margarida; COSTA, Pedro Alexandre; PAIS-RIBEIRO, José  and  FERREIRA-VALENTE, Alexandra. Adults’ perceptions of governmental management of the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2024, vol.25, n.1, pp.13-24.  Epub Mar 31, 2024. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/24psd250102.

Several measures were undertaken by governments globally to prevent the dissemination of COVID-19. However, little is known about how populations perceived these measures and their implementation. Thus, this study aims to explore how adults residing in Portugal perceived the management of the COVID-19 pandemic by governmental entities. A sample of 88 adults were interviewed (n = 45; 51%; age range: 19 to 92 years). Semi-structured interviews were conducted between Jan-Sep 2022, transcribed, and analyzed according to codebook Thematic Analysis. Three main themes were identified: 1) Indispensable measures in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) The government did the best it could; and 3) The dark side of the COVID-19 pandemic’s management in Portugal. Our findings suggest that participants perceived the COVID-19 pandemic’s management as successful, stating that the government adopted well-conceived measures, even with limited information and resources. However, adults complained about not understanding the reasoning behind some of the measures, the off-timing of some measures’ implementation, and failures in governmental communication. Thus, governments should increase transparency in the decision-making process, as well as improve communication with the population, thus potentially increasing adherence to the necessary measures and feelings of safety and tranquility during a public health crisis.

Keywords : COVID-19 pandemic; Governmental management; Communication; Adherence to guidelines; Public health.

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