‘We Would Have to Make Do with It’: Patients’ Lived Quarantine Experience at the COVID-19 Quarantine Centre in Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia is one of the few countries that has adopted an institutionalised quarantine approach for low-risk COVID-19 patients, as part of the various measures implemented to contain the spread and prevent the outbreaks of COVID-19. This research explored the individual lived quarantine experience at the institutionalised quarantine centre, aiming at informing the effects of such public health measures for better management of healthcare services. Using in-depth interviews, six purposively selected low-risk COVID-19 patients retrospectively provided their quarantine experience at the institutionalised quarantine centre. The interviews were conducted online, recorded, and transcribed. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed in analysing the data and synthesising the initial codes, sub-themes, and main themes. Analysed data resulted in four overarching themes illustrating the quarantine experiences at the institutionalised quarantine centre: increased psychological distress, weakened physical health, poor quarantine management, and quarantine coping. The study's findings contributed to the understanding of how overflowed and poor quarantine management led to increased psychological distress, weakened physical health, and the formation of perceived unfairness. In turn, policymakers and healthcare practices outlined recommendations for better planning and implementation of institutionalised quarantine.