Browsing by Author | މުސައްނިފުން "Moosa, Sheena"

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Article
Determinants of socioeconomic experiences during COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives
(Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, 2020-12) Musthafa, Hawwa Shiuna; Riyaz, Aminath; Moosa, Sheena; Abdul Raheem, Raheema; Naeem, Aishath Zeen
This paper evaluates the individual experiences and perceptions of the public about the COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives. The data was collected from a probability sample comprising 1026 respondents using an online survey. The results show that less than 1% of the respondents tested positive for COVID-19 at the time. The fear of the pandemic, in terms of probable health and economic impact, was significantly higher than the actual experience of the pandemic with 6.8 percent reporting loss of employment. Participants who considered religion as very important show a higher psychological wellbeing. Over 12% of the participants believed that the pandemic to be a hoax. The findings showed inclination of the people lay more towards solidarity rather than hostility during these trying times, with at least one third of the respondents identifying with complete solidarity. The findings provide suggestions for health practitioners to communicate more effectively with the public during the crisis.
Article
Emotional distress in COVID-19 patients in Maldives
(2020) Dey, Rajib Kumar; Mansoor, Shanooha; Hilmy, Abdulla Isneen; Moosa, Sheena; Rahman, Shirani Abdul; Latheef, Raishan; Rasheed, Nihla; Hassan, Fathimath Guraishaa; Zaadhee, Ali; Ibrahim, Afa; Usman, Safoora Kausar
Article
Evaluation of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system in the Maldives : mortality cause specific approach
(United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 2020-06) Usman, Sofoora Kawsar; Moosa, Sheena; ޞަފޫރާ ކައުޘަރު ޢުޘްމާން; ޝީނާ މޫސާ
Article
Impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities in the Maldives
(The Maldives Health Research Bulletin, 2020) Moosa, Sheena; Riyaza, Fathimath; Usman, Safoora Kawsar
Article
Impact of COVID-19 on persons with disability in Maldives : results of quantitative and qualitative research findings
(Maldives National University, 2020-10-31) Moosa, Sheena; Riyaza, Fathimath; Usman, Sofoora Kawsar
Article
Nowcasting the COVID 19 epidemic in the Maldives
(The Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2020-08) Moosa, Sheena; Usman, Sofoora Kawsar
The novelty of COVID‑19 prompted reliance on mathematical modelling to guide decision making and planning pandemic response. The compartment model using suspected, infected recovered and death (SIRD) as used in the Maldives to forecast the epidemic which was nowcasted (adjusted in real-time) to produce parameters on epidemic progression in the Male’ area to allow for quick decision making. Deriving the model input parameters were challenging and introduced a greater level of uncertainty in model output parameters. Recognition of the data limitation in presenting model outputs allowed for quick decision making in the COVID‑19 early phase towards control of the epidemic.
Article
Preliminary report : survey on socio-economic aspects of COVID-19 in the Maldives : (round two June 2020)
(Maldives National University, 2020-10) Moosa, Sheena; Suzana, Mariyam; Najeeb, Fazeel; Raheem, Raheema Abdul; Ibrahim, Athifa; Riyaza, Fathimath; Usman, Sofoora Kawsar
The first community case of Covid-19 in the Maldives was reported on the 15th April 2020 which triggered the lockdown of Greater Male’ area with travel restrictions between islands, closure of businesses, government offices, schools and other movement of the people was restricted. The lockdown lasted about 45 days before any ease of movement was given. This report presents the preliminary results of the second round of online survey launched on the 12th of June 2020 to explore the extent of exposure to Covid-19, prevention practices, perceptions on easing the restrictions imposed to contain Covid-19, quality of life, access to essential services and the impact on work and income during lockdown. A quantitative online survey methodology was adopted targeting the whole population. To reach the population, the survey team partnered with the two main telecommunication providers in the country and survey link was sent to all registered mobile phones registered with the two providers. The response rate was 94%, with 2368 people completing the study out of 2517 who responded to the study invitation. The study was registered at the Maldives National University (RR/2020/S-02) and ethics approval was obtained from the National Health Research Council (NHRC/2020/006). The response distribution by gender was quite similar with 53.4% females and 46.6% males but the response rate from the atolls was lower than Male’. Testing for Covid-19 was found to be considerable with 14.3% of the sampled population having tested for the disease. Exposure to the disease was low with 0.4% testing positive for the disease. A large proportion complied with HPA’s advice on the prevention measures of Covid-19 such as hand hygiene (72.9%), wearing face masks (71%) and social distancing (60.4%). Many wanted ease of restrictions but felt the need for increased testing, monitoring of compliance, appropriate guidelines and community empowerment to reduce risk of contracting Covid-19. Findings on the exposure to covid-19 and prevention practices reflected the country’s strategy of early detection, high level of testing capacity, peoples’ health seeking behaviours and acceptance of the interventions adopted in the country. The quality of life during the Covid-19 pandemic indicated a high level of health and wellbeing with an average self-reported score of health during the lockdown at 78.2 out of 100. Except for anxiety and depression suffered by 50% of the population, the other four dimensions of quality of life showed that more than 90% had no problem with mobility and self-care, 71% had no problem with usual activities and 66% had no problem of bodily pain or discomfort during the lockdown. The discrepancy observed between the proportion of population suffering from mental health issues (50%) and the demand for mental health services (9.8%) highlights the need to extend mental health education across the country, proactive screening and treatment for the people in need. Access to essential services during the lockdown demonstrated that 29.8% of the sample needed health services, 9.8% required mental health services, 6.8% needed sexual and reproductive services, 1.4% needed child protection services and 34% needed financial support. The small proportion of people who needed essential services were able to access these services, but majority of those who did access the services felt that their needs were not met. Despite the efforts to enable access to essential services during lockdown, it has highlighted that the quality of services was not adequate, which may be partly driven by the narrow focus of the pandemic planning to respond to the disease specific interventions, overlooking the wider social implications. The lockdown measures put in place was found to have disrupted economic activity for many. Amongst the working population it was common to work both at home and outside but majority were working less hours. People earning income from home-based activities were more vulnerable with earning less than MVR 5000 per month (<$10 per day). Majority who earn from home-based activities were women and were not able to continue their income activities during lockdown, mainly due to increased responsibility of domestic work and care of dependents while isolated at home. While only a third of the people were concerned about exposure to COVID-19 on return to work, majority were concerned about getting back their job, reduced pay, and social aspects such as no social support to look after dependents when they return to work. This suggests that economic concerns outweighed the risk of infection for a large segment of the working population which needs to be taken into account when planning risk communication as it poses significant risk of a resurgence of infection in the community. While the government pandemic response is contemplating the ease of restriction, the risk of a second wave is real, and is heavily reliant on the compliance to the guidelines set out by the Health Protection Agency. The lessons from this pandemic needs to be incorporated into the pandemic preparedness plans and national emergency operational plan with innovative modalities to ensure that pandemic response does not leave the vulnerable behind. Stimulus packages will be helpful in the short run, but in the long term, sustainable safety nets, skill development and avenues for alternative income generating activities needs to be introduced, with a special focus on the informal sector and the women in the working population. Risk communications needs to target empowerment of the businesses and community to take actions on their own for successful suppression of the epidemic.
Article
Qualitative report : socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in the Maldives : social sector experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic's lockdown in the Maldives
(Maldives National University, 2021) Moosa, Sheena; Ibrahim, Athifa; Usman, Sofoora Kawsar
Article
Risk communications in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic : the Maldives’ experience
(Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, 2020-12) Usman, Thasleema; Moosa, Sheena
Risk communication strategies and modalities are at the heart of the pandemic response containment and mitigation. As the pandemic unfolded across the world, a small island country like the Maldives in democratic transition and highly dependent on other economies perceived risks beyond that of health effects to the economic and political spheres. In this context, the multi-media approach adopted in communicating risks and response interventions were effective in building confidence in the national response towards transmission of COVID-19 specific knowledge and prevention behaviour. Despite best efforts, shortcomings were experienced in reaching vulnerable segments such as migrants and persons with disabilities. The prolonged pandemic demands re-focussing risk communication towards empowering institutions for providing low risk modalities for individuals returning to work and daily life with preventive behaviours.
Article
Social value orientations and public confidence in institutions : a young democracy under the imprint of Covid-19
(2021) Moosa, Sheena; Riyaz, Aminath; Abdul Raheem, Raheema; Shiuna Musthafa, Hawwa; Zeen Naeem, Aishath
Social value orientations (SVOs) of a society determine peoples’ behaviour and are critical for young democracies in crises. This paper draws on the Maldives Values in Crisis survey, conducted during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. SVOs assessed using the Schwartz Personal Values Questionnaire shows that Maldivian society weigh slightly towards prosocial. Urban-rural, age, and gender determine the SVOs on the dimension of Openness to change versus Conservation while age and gender determine the SVOs on Self-enhancement versus Self-transcendence dimension. Confidence in the public institutions were moderate and not associated with the SVOs. The moderate level of SVOs and confidence in institutions reflects the democratic landscape of the country. Although prosocial SVOs are favourable for implementing containment measures of the pandemic, without a strong value orientation towards conservation and self-transcendence, and confidence in the institutions, the country faces the risk of non-compliance to measures and escalation of the crisis.
Article
Survey sampling in the time of social distancing experiences from a quantitative research in the wake of COVID 19 pandemic
(The Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2020-08) Riyaz, Aminath; Musthafa, Hawwa Shiuna; Abdul Raheem, Raheema; Moosa, Sheena
This paper explores the practical difficulties of conducting an online quantitative survey across the Maldives during the COVID‑19 pandemic response to study people’s values in the midst of a crisis, and addresses crisis experience and perception, value orientation, personality traits, social cohesion, and trust in relevant authorities. This paper reports on the methodological component and not on the survey findings. A stratified systematic random sampling approach was used, with stratification on urbanrural clusters (cities and other islands), gender, and age of the population to recruit at least 400 from the urban and 600 participants from the rural communities. To overcome the practical difficulty of accessing households due to restrictive measures across the Maldives and lockdown status in the greater Male’ area, the latest voters’ registry was used to select every nth participant as the sample frame. Participants were recruited through phone calls, and survey instrument shared via social media, achieving a response rate of 87%.The practical difficulties with the sampling approach were different in urbanrural clusters, ranging from securing the phone numbers for prospective participants, nonresponse to phone calls, discrepancies in internet access, and the lack of control on whether the intended participant was in fact the person completing the survey. To overcome these challenges, a mix of probability and non-probability sampling was utilised ensuring not more than one participant was recruited from any household, while adhering to the stratification of gender and age. The statistical findings on the validity and reliability of the data show that the recruited sample is representative of the population. This outcome highlights the adaptability and applicability of established quantitative research methods to a geographically dispersed small island developing state, under nonconventional situations.
Technical Report
Values in crisis : values under the imprint of Covid-19 pandemic in the Maldives : values in crisis survey (wave 1) summary report
(ޔުނައިޓެޑް ނޭޝަަންސް ޑިވެލޮޕްމެންޓް ޕްރޮގްރާމް, 2020) Maldives National University; UNDP; Research team:; Riyaz, Aminath; Moosa, Sheena; Raheem, Raheema Abdul; Musthafa, Hawwa Shiuna
Virtual focus group discussions : exploring new frontiers in qualitative methods
(The Maldives National Journal of Research, Maldives National University, 2022-07) Musthafa, Hawwa Shiuna; Moosa, Sheena; Hassan, Aishath
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered reactive innovation using digital technology in research methods. This paper presents experiences from the methodological component of conducting virtual focus group discussions among the highly dispersed island nation of the Maldives during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of 99 participants divided among 28 virtual focus groups. The most populated regions of the Maldives i.e., Male’, Addu, Laamu, and Kulhuduffushi were selected. Additionally, two smaller islands with a population less than 400 people, namely, Rasgatheem and Madifushi, were also selected. The focus groups were determined by adopting a life cycle approach representing groups from childhood, youth, working age group, and senior citizens. To ensure inclusivity, three separate groups of men, women, and people with disabilities were also selected. The data collected was then subjected to thematic analysis. The findings indicated that with open discussions and engagement, facilitators were able to draw out shy participants and manage dominant participants in the Virtual Focus Group Discussion (VFGD). The caveat, however, is the need for internet connectivity and digital literacy of participants. The findings provided an in-depth understanding of the research problem. VFGD can become a mainstream data collection technique in the social qualitative inquiry especially with difficult-to-access and remote populations.
Thesis
The wellbeing and social connectedness of older people in the Small Island Developing State (SIDS) of Maldives
(The University of Waikato, 2016-01) Moosa, Sheena
Older people in small island developing states (SIDS) live within the context of a distinctive set of circumstances in terms of the unique geospatial characteristics of island nations, the typically small size and dispersed nature of populations, new and emerging environmental vulnerabilities, and associated threats to economic development. Such characteristics present distinctive challenges to the wellbeing of the increasing number of older people in such countries. In seeking to gain a better understanding of these challenges, this research examines the nature of the determinants of wellbeing for older people in SIDS through a case study of ageing and wellbeing in Maldives. Wellbeing is conceptualised as being constituted through success in critical life domains in a multidimensional model that includes the socio-cultural, geo-spatial and economic living environments of older people in Maldives. A capabilities approach to understanding wellbeing taking into account of the opportunities for older people to live a valued life - ‘to do and to be what they have reason to value’ – is adopted, and this informs the examination of older people’s experiences in the life domains of health, social connectedness, economic status, access to goods and services, and ability to conform with social norms and values. A survey instrument was developed in consultation with key individuals in the health and social service sector, along with a sample of older people themselves, and this was used to interview 393 older people (65 + years). The findings support the novel conceptualisation of the five life domains specific to this SIDS context. The most important determinants were health and social connectedness, each having a large impact on wellbeing, while economic status, ability to conform with social values and norms, and access to goods and services had small but significant correlations. The large contribution of social connectedness and the centrality of family in social connectedness points to the importance of collectivist social arrangements in Maldives, despite the geo-spatial challenges confronting a widely dispersed population. This approach to conceptualising wellbeing, and the indictors and measures that were developed provide a basis for further research and policy that extends beyond Maldives to other SIDS, and to international development partners.
Book
WHO step survey on risk factors for noncommunicable diseases : Maldives 2020-2021
(The Maldives National University, 2022) ރަހީމާ އަބްދުއްރަހީމް; ޝީނާ މޫސާ; Abudl Raheem, Raheema; Moosa, Sheena