Disinfection behavior for COVID-19 in individuals with Down syndrome and caregivers’ distress in Japan: a cross-sectional retrospective study

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak affected the daily lives of individuals with Down syndrome, who were considered to have a higher risk of severe infection. While several studies have reported mental health issues in children and/or parents in the general population, no study has focused on people with Down syndrome and their caregivers. This study investigated the disinfection behaviors of individuals with Down syndrome and their caregivers’ stress. A cross-sectional retrospective survey was conducted in October 2020. Caregivers of children and adults with Down syndrome were administered questionnaires including measures for practiced disinfection behavior in children, caregiver’s child-related stress, and psychological distress. About half of the respondents’ children practiced hand hygiene and mask-wearing behaviors, while physical distancing was performed less frequently. Habitual practices in physical distancing are affected by intellectual function. Logistic regression showed that caregivers’ stress was associated with the irritability of individuals with the disorder (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 8.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.69–42.09) and the burden of infection-prevention behaviors for people with Down syndrome (adjusted OR = 4.26, 95% CI 1.88–9.65). This study showed the characteristics of disinfection behaviors in individuals with Down syndrome and associated factors for serious caregiver stress.

Relationship between children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their caregivers and friends during early phase of COVID-19 school closure in Japan: Association with difficulty in implementing infection prevention measures

“…Keeping social distance was the most common difficulty. Similar results were reported in a previous study conducted in elementary schools in the United Kingdom [ 22 ] and in a study of children with Down syndrome [ 23 ]. For school-aged children, balancing learning activities and infection control may be difficult.…”

The Relationship of Neighborhood Walking Behavior to Duration of Aging in Place—A Retrospective Cohort Study

“…For example, a study by Raidl and colleagues reported receiving zero incomplete responses for their retrospective survey, compared with 15–16% from their pre- and post-surveys [ 28 ]. Retrospective surveys have been used successfully to measure various outcomes from determining behavior changes in disinfection for COVID-19 and drug prevention to measuring predictors of overall survival in elderly cancer patients [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Although a longitudinal study design could have provided more accurate assessments, we believe that our survey results hold sufficient validity for the purpose of this study.…”

Children's experiences of mask‐wearing: a systemic review and narrative synthesis

“…Schafer et al 54 suggested preferential seating, the use of visual supplements, sound amplification, speech‐to‐text apps, note‐takers, hearing aids, and real‐time translation. Furthermore, contrary to concerns that impaired intellectual function may hinder adherence to public health measures, Fujino et al 36 showed that hand hygiene and mask‐wearing were habitually used in people with Down syndrome, and about 60% of children and adults with Down Syndrome understood well or to a certain degree the necessity of hand hygiene or mask‐wearing. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that masking is likely to be achievable for most children, with adjustments in place for children who may face additional barriers.…”

“…The specific educational setting of a child must be appreciated when evaluating mask-wearing, alongside any additional needs that children may have. 29,36,45,48,54,63 Literature has shown that accommodations can be made for specific populations of children who may experience additional barriers to mask-wearing, such as children with hearing loss. Lalonde et al 45 demonstrated that adults and children with normal hearing and children with bilateral hearing loss were similarly impacted by face masks, but that accommodations could be made if necessary.…”

“…The specific educational setting of a child must be appreciated when evaluating mask‐wearing, alongside any additional needs that children may have 29,36,45,48,54,63 . Literature has shown that accommodations can be made for specific populations of children who may experience additional barriers to mask‐wearing, such as children with hearing loss.…”