Perception of Citizens on the Healthcare Services During COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused radical changes in the healthcare services infrastructure throughout the world and has reshaped the perception of the citizens on government initiatives to combat this pandemic. The study aims to understand the citizens’ perception of the measures of healthcare service of Bangladesh to combat COVID-19 and to explore the influencing factors that shaped the citizens’ perception. The study is qualitative in nature, followed by multi-method data collection techniques. The primary data and information were collected through 15 in-depth interviews (IDIs) where respondents were either COVID patients or close relatives of patients and 5 key informant interviews (KIIs) who were the public health experts and health practitioners. The study revealed that Bangladesh had huge equipment shortages at the early stage of the pandemic. The significant disparity was seen between the poor and the rich in getting healthcare services during COVID-19; the lower and middle classes suffered the most on many fronts due to the various measures of the government in confronting the pandemic. Inefficient use of limited resources, mismanagement in the health sector, poor governance, undue political influence and inappropriate vaccine management strategy led to trust deficiency among the citizens; social media also played a critical role in shaping the citizens’ perception. Findings of this study will guide concerned policy stakeholders to re-instate citizen trust in the government through undertaking appropriate policy interventions.