Perceived impact of lockdown on daily life in children with physical disabilities and their families during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Background The first lockdown during COVID‐19 pandemic in France led to an abrupt change in children's daily lives. For children with physical disabilities and their families, activities were limited, access to healthcare and therapy was disrupted, and family organization was altered. The objective was to report the impact of the lockdown on daily life activities and well‐being of children with physical disabilities as perceived by caregivers. Methods Two online national surveys were addressed to the parents of children with physical disabilities (ECHO survey: 6 April to 11 May 2020) and without disabilities (E‐COPAIN survey: 24 April to 11 May 2020), confined at home during the lockdown. A lockdown impact score was calculated from difficulties related to children's well‐being (morale, behaviour and social interaction) and daily life activities (schooling and physical activity) and compared between groups. Data on family environment, parental stress and concerns were collected. Results One thousand three hundred seventy‐six children (9.45 ± 4.78 years, 54% girls) in ECHO survey and 367 children (7.3 ± 4.4 years, 48% girls) in E‐COPAIN survey were included. A negative impact of lockdown was found on 81% of children with physical disabilities. Behavioural problems were significantly more frequent (59.5% vs. 47.4%, P < .005) and parental stress was higher (6.1 ± 3.33 vs. 5.3 ± 3.01, P = .005) in the ECHO group. Associated impairments (odds ratio [OR] = 1.45 [1.30–1.62], P < .001), parental stress (OR = 1.09 [1.06–1.12], P < .001) and continuation of rehabilitation (OR = 0.80 [0.72–0.89], P < .001) were determinants of the level of difficulty experienced. Conclusions The lockdown had a considerable, negative impact on the daily life of children with disabilities and their families. Guiding policymakers with the essential daily life activities and the services to provide for children with physical disabilities would offer valuable insights to manage such a sanitary crisis and allow to identify the most vulnerable population.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Mental Wellbeing in Children with a Chronic Condition Compared to Healthy Peers

“…The pandemic has often resulted in decreased life satisfaction [ 10 ], increased internalising symptoms (including anxiety and depression), and more mental health problems and psychosomatic complaints [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about the effects of the pandemic on children with chronic conditions, who are a population at risk of decreased mental wellbeing [ 15 , 16 ]. In general, children with a chronic condition rate their psychosocial functioning, developmental milestones, and mental wellbeing lower than their healthy peers [ 15 , 17 ].…”

The perceived impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the children with cerebral palsy: the parents’ perspective explored within the “6-F words” framework

“…Considering the children’s abilities, behavior and the motor functioning were more affected during the pandemic. In accordance with this, different authors found a decrease in the general mood [ 13 ] or an increase in irritability, aggressiveness and anger [ 9 ] and, more generally, behavioral problems [ 5 , 10 , 12 ]. This was true also for children with other disabilities [ 20 ].…”

“…Varengue [ 5 ] and Sutter [ 6 ] found that the physical wellbeing and mental health of children with disabilities was impaired due to the reduced availability of rehabilitative services and worsening of the caregivers’ mental health. For example, Dhiman [ 7 ] and Varengue [ 5 ] showed that the pandemic increased the stress, depression and the perception of stress on caregivers.…”

“…Varengue [ 5 ] and Sutter [ 6 ] found that the physical wellbeing and mental health of children with disabilities was impaired due to the reduced availability of rehabilitative services and worsening of the caregivers’ mental health. For example, Dhiman [ 7 ] and Varengue [ 5 ] showed that the pandemic increased the stress, depression and the perception of stress on caregivers. The consequences varied depending on variables such as the children’ age and level of independence, whether a parent was the sole caregiver of the child, lack of confidence in telerehabilitation services and so on.…”

A prospective analysis of the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being and health care among children with a chronic condition and their families: a study protocol of the KICK-COVID study

“…Working at home and living with preschool-aged children has particularly influenced the extent of mental distress during the pandemic [ 42 , 43 ]. Therefore, the impact of lockdowns implemented in response to COVID-19 on mental health has raised concerns [ 44 , 45 ]. There is increasing empirical evidence underpinning the negative effects of the pandemic and the associated containment measures on the psychosocial well-being of children [ 33 , 34 , 46 ] and their parents [ 38 , 39 ] in the general population.…”