Psychological and Social Impact of COVID-19 in Pakistan: Need for Gender Responsive Policies

Abstract

BACKGROUNDCOVID-19 has rapidly crossed borders, infecting people throughout the world. Women may be especially vulnerable to depression and anxiety due to the pandemic, AIMSThis study attempted to assess how gender impacts risk perceptions, anxiety levels behavioral responses to the COVID 19 pandemic in Pakistan in order to recommend gender responsive health policies METHODSA cross-sectional online survey was conducted. Participants were asked to complete a sociodemographic data form, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and questions on their risk perceptions, preventive behavior and information exposure. Regression analysis was used to assess effects of factors such as age, gender and household income on anxiety levels.RESULTSOf the 1390 respondents, 478 were women, and 913 were men. Women considered their chances of survival to be relatively lower than men ( 59 % women vs 73% men). They were also more anxious (62% women vs 50% men), and more likely to adopt precautionary behavior, such as avoiding going to the hospital (78% women vs. 71% men), not going to work (72% women and 57% men), and using disinfectants (93% women and 86% men). Men were more likely to trust friends, family and social media as reliable sources of COVID-19 information, while women were more likely to trust doctors.CONCLUSIONWomen experience a disproportion burden of the psychological and social impact of the pandemic compared to men. Involving doctors in healthcare communication targeting women, might prove effective. Social media and radio programs may be effective in disseminating information related to COVID among men.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 ) IgG-antibody seroprevalence among quarantined population, during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, In North West Ethiopia (from 30 April to 30 May 2020)

“…1 The estimated prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 serum antibodies during the first wave of the epidemic in our study is higher than previously reported in Addis Ababa (1.9%), 17 Dire Dawa (3.2%), 5 Central Ethiopia (3.5%), 12 Turkey (2.7%), 29 Israel (1.1%), 28 California (2.5%), 4 and Germany (0.12%). 30,31 During this study population levels preventive measures that included school closing, restriction in social gathering, and physical distancing rules were in place in Ethiopia. In addition, the serological assays were used in the study, and the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the community is related with individuals' adherence to stringent infection control measures, and high availability and utilization of personal protective equipment.…”

Generalized anxiety disorder among Bangladeshi university students during COVID-19 pandemic: gender specific findings from a cross-sectional study

“…Concurrent evidence from LMICs has affirmed that the prescribed gender roles have resulted in young females being burdened with domestic duties, financial dependency, lesser coping strategies, and more uncertainty during the lockdown, making them prone to developing mental health symptoms [18,30,[42][43][44][45]. A plethora of studies from worldwide and Bangladesh, supported the idea that the prevalence of anxiety is higher among female students than males during the pandemic [6, 16-18, 37-41, 44, 46-50].…”

Influence of gender identity on the adoption of religious-spiritual, preventive and emotion-focused coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan

“…In Pakistan, with the eruption of COVID-19, there have been higher risk perceptions among women about susceptibility and severity of the disease and the adoption of preventive coping behaviour such as social distancing and enhanced hygiene measures [ 23 ]. In addition, gender differences were notable in adopting coping strategies, with women complying with the government’s preventive instructions more than males [ 22 ].…”