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Kelin Zvomuya and Noreen Kudzanai Wini Dari

COVID-19 is an infectious respiratory illness, which was declared a pandemic by World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2020.

Although Covid-19 has its origins in biology, there are a number of psychological factors that can impact its spread as well as the general population wellbeing.

In a pandemic, the population’s psychological reactions play an essential role in both the spreading and containment of the disease.

In such times, where the world finds itself cornered and waiting for scientists to find a cure or a miracle, behaviour becomes an important armour that people can use to fight Covid-19.

Complex interaction of internal and situational factors affects human behaviour, knowledge and understanding of these complex interactions becomes important in the fight against Covid-19.

Stress is considered a normal part of life, however, prolonged exposure to stress can be harmful to the body.

Research has shown that both individual and family stress are linked to greater incidences of Upper Respiratory Infections in human beings.

It is therefore imperative that mental wellbeing be prioritised in the fight to curb Covid-19 infections.

There has been immense emotional disturbance due to the fears and anxieties of the Covid-19 infection and the challenges brought about by the lockdown.

Travel bans and social distancing have resulted in various traumas including complicated grief, separation, loss of lives and livelihoods.

Information has been shared reminding people on the need to focus on what is in their control and avoid catastrophizing everything looking out of the silver lining amidst widespread serious illness, social and community instability, economic difficulties and uncertainty.

The human race cannot magically control these feelings, or eliminate all the fear and anxiety.

Mental health intervention becomes important to help the population cope and adjust.

Unfortunately, mental health has for long been treated as the Cinderella of health care, kept in the periphery hidden from the world.

Kenya and South Africa started incorporating mental health early on in their response protocol to Covid-19.

In Zimbabwe mental health was not initially part of the Covid-19 protocol.

It is important that mental health be considered an important factor in the response to Covid-19 as the pandemic poses a challenge which is more likely to increase mental distress and psychiatric morbidity

Human behaviour will determine how quickly or slowly Covid-19 spreads.

The Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour model (COM-B) recognises that behaviour is part of an interacting system.

Capability involves the individual’s psychological and physical capacity to engage in the activity concerned and includes having the necessary knowledge and skills, in this case, if people have few resources, knowledge or information pertaining Covid-19 behaviours that lead to exposure may continue unabated.

Opportunity comprises of all the factors that lie outside the individual and make the behaviour possible.

It is crucial to note that, often the people’s Capability (C) and Opportunity (O) to engage in preventive measures are often absent, and people may act in ways that may increase exposure of contracting Covid-19.

All should be present for behaviour to occur, thus, it is important to ensure that people have the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation to enact key behaviours during this pandemic in order to curb Covid-19.

Motivation involves all those brain processes that energize and direct behaviour, not just goals and conscious decision-making.

It includes habitual processes, emotional responding, as well as analytical decision-making.

Stress affects these motivation processes, as people who are stressed are less motivated to behave in the expected or prescribed manner that helps curb Covid-19.

When threatened with stress, people sometimes simply give up and withdraw from the battle.

Some people routinely respond to stress with fatalism and resignation, passively accepting setbacks that might have been dealt with effectively, this is known as learned helplessness syndrome.

Human behaviour is a key enabler to preventing infection, mental health and its related fields of study are crucial in reducing the spread of Covid-19 as well as helping those who have been infected by the disease and family members who lost their beloved ones.

People infected with or suspected of being infected with Covid-19 may experience extreme emotional and behavioural reactions, unmanaged these symptoms may evolve into mental health disorders.

Prevention is better than cure lets acknowledge mental health and help ensure the populations wellbeing in its full sense.

• Kelin Zvomuya is a final year psychology student at the University of Zimbabwe
• Noreen Kudzanai Wini Dari is a Community Psychologist and a member of the Zimbabwe Psychological Association. She is also a part time lecture at the University of Zimbabwe in the department of Psychology

The writer write in their personal capacities