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. 2023 Feb 10;20(4):3110.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043110.

Being a Parent of Children with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Method Study of Health, Social Life, and Occupational Situation

Noémie Fortin-Bédard  1   2 , Naomie-Jade Ladry  1 , François Routhier  1   2 , Josiane Lettre  1 , David Bouchard  1 , Béatrice Ouellet  1   2 , Marie Grandisson  1   2 , Krista L Best  1   2 , Ève-Line Bussières  1   3 , Marie Baron  4 , Annie LeBlanc  4   5 , Marie-Eve Lamontagne  1   2
Affiliations

Being a Parent of Children with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Method Study of Health, Social Life, and Occupational Situation

Noémie Fortin-Bédard et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Parents of children with disabilities face challenges in their daily lives, but little is known about their experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the study was to explore the experiences of parents of children with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, Canada. Forty parents of children with disabilities from Quebec, Canada (mean [SD] age: 41.2 [6.7]; 93% women) were selected from the Ma Vie et la pandémie (MAVIPAN) study. All 40 parents completed the MAVIPAN online questionnaires including the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing short 7-item scale (WEMWBS), Social Provisions Scale-10 item (SPS-10), and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS). A multi-method analysis was used to summarize questionnaires and thematically explore parents' experiences. Parents reported deterioration in their mental (50.0%) and physical (27.5%) health, with moderate levels of depression, stress, and anxiety, yet moderately positive well-being. Additional experiences included reduction in available supports (71.4%) and feelings of social isolation (51.4%). Our results highlighted reduced mental and physical health, limited and modified access to certain services, and reduction of social supports for some parents of children with disabilities. Health professionals, policymakers, and governments should be mindful of these challenges experienced by parents of children with disabilities.

Keywords: COVID-19; people with disabilities; qualitative; rehabilitation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of pandemic impacts on parents’ life according to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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