학술논문
Parental experiences of the impacts of Covid-19 on the care of young children; qualitative interview findings from the Nairobi Early Childcare in Slums (NECS) project.
Document Type
Academic Journal
Author
Hughes RC; Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.; Muendo R; Maternal and Child Wellbeing Unit, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.; Bhopal SS; Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.; Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.; Onyango S; Maternal and Child Wellbeing Unit, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.; Kimani-Murage E; Maternal and Child Wellbeing Unit, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.; Kirkwood BR; Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.; Hill Z; Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.; Kitsao-Wekulo P; Maternal and Child Wellbeing Unit, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
Source
Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9918283779606676 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2767-3375 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 27673375 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLOS Glob Public Health Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE
Subject
Language
English
Abstract
Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic, and societal attempts to control it, have touched almost every aspect of people's lives around the world, albeit in unequal ways. In particular, there is considerable concern about the way that stringent 'lockdowns', as implemented in Kenya and many other countries, affected young children, especially those living in informal settlements. However, to date, there has been little research attempting to unpack and understand how the pandemic has impacted on the care of young children.
Methods: In-depth telephone interviews were conducted with 21 parents/carers of children aged under five years living in three Nairobi slums between May and September 2021 exploring the ways in which Covid-19, and policies to control the pandemic, impacted on their household and the care of their child/children.
Results: The impacts of Covid-19 control measures on the care of children have been widely felt, deep and multiple. The impact of economic hardship has been significant, reportedly undermining food security and access to services including healthcare and childcare. Respondents reported an associated increase in domestic and community violence. Many people relied on help from others; this was most commonly reported to be in the form of variable levels of flexibility from landlords and help from other community members. No direct harms from Covid-19 disease were reported by respondents.
Conclusion: The impacts of Covid-19 control measures on the care of young children in informal settlements have been indirect but dramatic. Given the breadth and depth of these reported impacts, and the particular vulnerability of young children, deeper consideration ought to inform decisions about approaches to implementation of stringent disease control measures in future. In addition, these findings imply a need for both short- and long-term policy responses to ameliorate the impacts described.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2023 Hughes et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Methods: In-depth telephone interviews were conducted with 21 parents/carers of children aged under five years living in three Nairobi slums between May and September 2021 exploring the ways in which Covid-19, and policies to control the pandemic, impacted on their household and the care of their child/children.
Results: The impacts of Covid-19 control measures on the care of children have been widely felt, deep and multiple. The impact of economic hardship has been significant, reportedly undermining food security and access to services including healthcare and childcare. Respondents reported an associated increase in domestic and community violence. Many people relied on help from others; this was most commonly reported to be in the form of variable levels of flexibility from landlords and help from other community members. No direct harms from Covid-19 disease were reported by respondents.
Conclusion: The impacts of Covid-19 control measures on the care of young children in informal settlements have been indirect but dramatic. Given the breadth and depth of these reported impacts, and the particular vulnerability of young children, deeper consideration ought to inform decisions about approaches to implementation of stringent disease control measures in future. In addition, these findings imply a need for both short- and long-term policy responses to ameliorate the impacts described.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2023 Hughes et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)