Relationship of Forced Social Distancing and Home Confinement Derived from the COVID-19 Pandemic with the Occupational Balance of the Spanish Population

Abstract

Abrupt interruption in the performance of everyday occupations as a consequence of forced social distancing and home confinement, coupled with a lack of regulatory capacities and skills, can trigger harmful effects on people’s health and well-being. This study aimed to determine the factors related to the occupational balance in the Spanish population during home confinement as a consequence of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. A total of 3261 subjects completed an online survey, which was disseminated through the mainstream social media platforms in Spain and included the Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ), sociodemographic variables, and factors related to COVID-19 infection. The mean age of the participants (81.69% women) was 40.53 years (SD ± 14.05). Sociodemographic variables were related to a greater occupational balance, and the multivariate analysis showed that age (β = 0.071; p = 0.001), the perception of having received enough information (β = 0.071; p ≤ 0.001), not telecommuting (β = −0.047; p = 0.022), and not being infected by COVID-19 (β = 0.055; p = 0.007) contributed to a better occupational balance. There were profiles of people less likely to suffer disturbances in occupational balance during home confinement, but more studies are needed to help understand and analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s occupational and mental health.

Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Occupational Balance Questionnaire: An Instrument for Occupation-Based Research

“…Moreover, these data will be used to replicate the psychometric evaluation of the OBQ-E by conducting a more extensive analysis, thereby ensuring the generalization of the findings and enhancing the accuracy and capacity of this scale as a screening instrument of OB for the general population. In the meantime, we believe that the estimates of the present study provide convincing evidence to support the accuracy of OBQ-E as a suitable instrument for research, as well as serve as a methodological basis for the incipient epidemiological research focused on OB [19][20][21].…”

“…The development of the Spanish version of the OBQ constituted a central part of the doctoral thesis done by P.P.-G. To our knowledge, this version has been used in several previous studies aimed at examining OB in Spanish adults [19][20][21]; therefore, publishing the results of the adaptation and validation of the instrument is crucial to enhancing the accuracy of the research focused on OB in the Spanish population. The present study had a double aim: (1) to translate and cross-culturally adapt the original OBQ version into Spanish (OBQ-E); (2) to analyze the psychometric properties of the OBQ-E for use in the Spanish population.…”

The Professional and Psycho-Emotional Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Care—A Romanian GPs’ Perspective

“…Almost all affected countries looked with great suspicion at the virulence and speed potential of the new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), concerned about people’s well-being [ 18 ]. In Romania, the solutions adopted by the Ministry of Health were not enough to practically protect and support the doctors during the pandemic.…”

Exploring the Occupational Balance of Young Adults during Social Distancing Measures in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Exceptional situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic can cause a far-reaching disturbance in the occupational balance of the general population [ 29 ], and despite the fact that a certain imbalance is normal as long as it is not intense or lasts over time, the maintained imbalance is associated with pathological conditions [ 28 ]. The relationship between occupational balance and health is supported by some studies [ 22 , 25 , 26 , 30 , 31 , 32 ], and is associated with quality of life [ 25 ], life satisfaction [ 22 , 26 ], decreased perceived stress [ 31 ], and good subjective health [ 32 ]; it also affirms that a state of occupational balance is the reflection of the harmony between the different dimensions of a human being.…”