Surviving COVID-19 : experiences of illness and psychosocial effects on survivors in Zambia

The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number three (SDG-3) on health and wellbeing by exerting excessive pressure on national health systems especially those of low-income countries where access to health services is highly unequal and suboptimal. The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges that more people have experienced stress, anxiety, and depression during the pandemic yet there is a lack of understanding of experiences of illness among people who have suffered from COVID-19 in these countries. This study examines the experiences of illness among people who have suffered from COVID-19 in Zambia, and the psychosocial effects that the disease has had on them. Inferring from 225 in-depth interviews conducted with survivors of COVID-19 across five districts in Zambia, results show that COVID-19 illness experiences among patients are linked to its psychosocial effects such as fear and anxiety of death and the disruptions of everyday life including livelihood activities. The results show that interventions dealing with COVID-19 illness must have a dual focus on both its medical and psychosocial effects. Neglecting these psychosocial effects in national responses will further compromise progress towards population health and wellbeing as articulated in SDG-3.