The socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on families affected by childhood respiratory illnesses in Cape Town, South Africa.

Autor:	Anthony MG; Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa., Hoddinott G; Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.; School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia., Van Niekerk M; Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa., Dewandel I; Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa., McKenzie C; Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa., Bekker C; Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa., Rabie H; Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa., Redfern A; Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa., van der Zalm MM; Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	PLOS global public health [PLOS Glob Public Health] 2024 Mar 28; Vol. 4 (3), pp. e0003020. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 28 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pgph.0003020
Abstrakt:	The COVID-19 pandemic impacted families globally, directly and indirectly. Children presenting with respiratory illnesses are affected by emerging health systems and socioeconomic changes in the COVID-19 era. We explored the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on families with a respiratory illness diagnosed in their child in Cape Town, South Africa. This study was nested in a prospective observational cohort of children presenting with respiratory symptoms presumptive of COVID-19. We conducted 21 semi-structured interviews to explore the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families with a child affected by respiratory illnesses. We used case descriptive analysis and thematically organised common and divergent experiences. We found that socioeconomic challenges in low-income communities were exacerbated: 1) loss of pre-COVID sources of income (loss of income, employment and working hours), 2) shrinking employment opportunities due to business closures and strict preventative measures, 3) family network dependence to cope with financial pressures, 4) impact on education, implicating additional pressures due to lack of resources for adequate home schooling and 5) caregivers' mental health and wellbeing being impacted, causing stress and anxiety due to loss of income. This study shows that the COVID-19 lockdown impacted the socioeconomic aspects of families caring for a child with a respiratory illness. Care became more complicated and adversely impacted the family's emotional well-being and health-seeking behaviour. These impacts should be more carefully considered in order to strengthen health services and global health messaging in future pandemics. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. (Copyright: © 2024 Anthony et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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