Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: a population study

Abstract

Since March of 2020, billions of people worldwide have been asked to limit their social contacts in an effort to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, little research has been carried out to date on the impact of such social distancing measures on the social isolation levels of the population. In this paper, we study the impact of the pandemic on the social isolation of the Spanish population, by means of 32,359 answers to a citizen survey collected over a period of 7 months. We uncover (1) a significant increase in the prevalence of social isolation in the population, reaching almost 26%; (2) gender and age differences, with the largest prevalence of isolation among middle-aged individuals; (3) a strong relationship between economic impact and social isolation; and (4) differences in social isolation, depending on the number of COVID-19 protection measures and on the perception of coronavirus infection risk by our participants. Our research sheds quantitative light on the sociological impact of the pandemic, and enables us to identify key factors in the interplay between the deployment of non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain the spread of an infectious disease and a population’s levels of social isolation.

Looking for COVID side effects in the EU through the analysis of health and behavioural profiles

“…Anxiety and depression can become a barrier to rational medical and mental health interventions during pandemics as people are exposed to uncontrollable events, they exhibit helplessness and lack of motivation (de Bruin 2021). Among the extended literature, other related works that reach to similar conclusions are Rodríguez-Hidalgo et al (2020), Codagnone et al (2020), Moreno et al (2020), Mata et al (2021), Martinez-Garcia et al (2021) and Martinez-Garcia et al (2022).…”

Conceptual Design of the “Private Car” Self-Isolation Ecosystem for the 2019-nCoV Infection

“…If the cost is limited and the laminar flow measures are even to be omitted, the simplest method is to set the air inlet and outlet along the diagonal of the space, so that the turbulence range will be slightly smaller than the direct arrangement. The isolation units that complete the above tasks can be used alone, but they should be arranged in groups to form an alternate arrangement of nursing corridors and pipeline corridors [ 10 ]. The intensive arrangement of multiple units is conducive to the efficient use of positive and negative pressure ventilation systems and the intensive arrangement of medical pipelines.…”

Long-Term Impairment in Activities of Daily Living Following COVID-19 in Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities

“…Despite the significant disease burden, preventive measures also harmed residents’ mental and physical health. The well-being of older residents in long-term care facilities was severely affected [ 16 , 17 ].…”