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; Naomie-Jade Ladry; François Routhier; Josiane Lettre; David Bouchard; Béatrice Ouellet; Marie Grandisson; Krista L Best; Ève-Line Bussières; Marie Baron; Annie LeBlanc; Marie-Eve Lamontagne

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

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 10;20(4):3110. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043110.

Authors

Noémie Fortin-Bédard^{1

2}, Naomie-Jade Ladry¹, François Routhier^{1

2}, Josiane Lettre¹, David Bouchard¹, Béatrice Ouellet^{1

2}, Marie Grandisson^{1

2}, Krista L Best^{1

2}, Ève-Line Bussières^{1

3}, Marie Baron⁴, Annie LeBlanc^{4

5}, Marie-Eve Lamontagne^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, QC G1C 3S2, Canada.
² Department of Rehabilitation, Université Laval, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
³ Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivieres, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada.
⁴ VITAM Research Center on Sustainable Health, Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, QC G1J 2G1, Canada.
⁵ Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
COVID-19*
Child
Disabled Children*
Female
Health Personnel
Humans
Male
Pandemics
Social Support

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Centre for interdisciplinary research in rehabilitation and social integration (Cirris) and the Quebec Rehabilitation Research Network (REPAR), respectively a research center and a thematic network funded by the Quebec Health Research Fund (FRQS). Funding for the whole MAVIPAN study comes from discretionary funds from the four research centers of the Quebec Integrated University Health and Social Services Center, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale: VITAM Research Center on Sustainable Health, University Center for Research on Youth and Families (CRUJeF), Cirris, and CERVO Brain Research Center.