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Item 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 ZeenThis 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.Item Editorial(MNU Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2018-06) Abdul Raheem, RaheemaItem Editorial(Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, 2020-12) Abdul Raheem, RaheemaItem Editorial(MNU Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2024) Abdul Raheem, RaheemaItem Perceptions of Leprosy in the Maldives : a cross-sectional study(Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, 2023-07) Moosa, Sheena; Abdul Raheem, Raheema; Ali, Sheeza; Saleem, Sana; Rasheed, Ryan Shah; ޝީނާ މޫސާ; ރަހީމާ އަބްދުއްރަހީމް; ޝީޒާ އަލީ; ސަނާ ސަލީމް; ރަޔަން ޝާހް ރަޝީދުThe aim of the study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding leprosy. A cross sectional survey of a nationally representative sample was implemented among the resident adult population (18 years and above) across the islands of Maldives. The survey sample size estimated was 1181 and a total of 1024 respondents completed the survey accounting for a response rate of 86.7%. The questions to measure indicators of knowledge, attitude and practices regarding leprosy were adopted from existing validated instruments used for leprosy KAP studies. The findings show a low level of knowledge with a mean of 3.5 in the KAP measure, where the maximum score is eight. However, the attitude and practices score does not indicate a high level of negative attitudes and practices (below the mid-point). The mean score of EMIC-CSS is 12, slight inclination towards less negative attitudes (EMIC-CSS scale scores ranges from zero = no negative attitudes, to 30 = most negative attitudes). The mean score of SDS is 8.9 indicating moderate level of negative practices (SDS scale scores ranges from zero = no negative practices to 21 = most negative practices). As Leprosy in the Maldives is no longer a public health burden, and the disease prevalence is extremely low, it has created a situation where there is very little awareness and correct knowledge about the disease among the public as well as health care workers. The attitudes and practices from the family and community are not at alarming levels in terms of stigma and social distancing. However, the low level of knowledge raises the concern that cases may be missed and as patients may be missed as they may not seek healthcare for early diagnosis and treatmentItem 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, SheenaThis 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.