Exploring experiences and changes in daily and social activities among individuals with spinal cord injury during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study
Main Article Content
Abstract
Objectives: To explore experiences and changes in daily and social activities among individuals living with spinal cord injuries over the first 9 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and methods: In this longitudinal qualitative study, data were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with participants at four time points (June 2020, July 2020, August 2020, January 2021). Data were analyzed longitudinally using a recurrent cross-sectional approach.
Results: The 22 participants had a mean age of 54 years, 13 were male. We identified three main themes: 1) ‘Dealing with the emotional impact of pandemic-related restrictions’ explored feelings of frustration, sources of anxiety, and the importance of adopting a positive mindset; 2) ‘Changing daily routines’ described aspects of normal routines that changed and ways of adapting to those changes; and 3) ‘Revisiting social engagement’ conveyed the struggles caused by a lack of social engagement and coping strategies to overcome them.
Conclusion: This study explicates the changes experienced by the SCI community during various points of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants discussed feelings of frustration, anxiety, and gratitude. They described changes, challenges, and strategies used when navigating life during the pandemic. These findings can facilitate future research to address the challenges faced by this population.
Keywords:
spinal cord injury, COVID-19, pandemic, experiences, changes, longitudinal
Article Details
How to Cite
SIMPSON, Ethan et al.
Exploring experiences and changes in daily and social activities among individuals with spinal cord injury during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 12, n. 10, oct. 2024.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/5961>. Date accessed: 22 dec. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v12i10.5961.
Section
Research Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
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34. Khasnabis C, Heinicke MK, Achu K, et al. Community-based rehabilitation: CBR guidelines. World Health Organization; 2010.
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36. Pérez-Escoda A, Jiménez-Narros C, Perlado-Lamo-de-Espinosa M, et al. ‘Social networks' engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: Health media vs. healthcare professionals. Int J Environ Res Pub Health. 2020;17(14):5261.
37. Dobransky K, Hargittai E. Piercing the pandemic social bubble: Disability and social media use about COVID-19. Am Behav Sci. 2021;65(12):1698-1720.
38. Canale N, Marino C, Lenzi M, et al. How communication technology fosters individual and social wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Preliminary support for a digital interaction model. J Happiness Stud. 2022;23(2):727–745.
2. Moon KT, Jang WH, Park HK, et al. The effects of occupation-based community rehabilitation for improving activities of daily living and health-related quality of life of people with disabilities after stroke living at home: A single subject design. Occup Ther Int. 2022;6657620.
3. Thorsteinsen K, Parks-Stamm EJ, Olsen M, et al. The impact of COVID-19-induced changes at schools on elementary students' school engagement. Front Psychol. 2021;12:687611.
4. Park KH, Kim AR, Yang MA, et al. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lifestyle, mental health, and quality of life of adults in South Korea. PloS One. 2021;16(2):e0247970.
5. Morse KF, Fine PA, Friedlander KJ. Creativity and leisure during COVID-19: examining the relationship between leisure activities, motivations, and psychological well-being. Front Psycol. 2021;12:609967.
6. Giuntella O, Hyde K, Saccardo S, et al. Lifestyle and mental health disruptions during COVID-19. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2021;118(9):e2016632118.
7. 2019 Novel coronavirus (2019 nCoV): strategic preparedness and response plan. World Health Organization. Published 2020. Accessed 2021. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/strategic-preparedness-and-response-plan-for-the-new-coronavirus
8. Hill & Knowlton Strategies. Published 2020. Accessed 2021. https://hkstrategies.ca/en/b-c-announced-four-phase-plan-to-slowly-reopen-beginning-in-mid-may/
9. City of Vancouver. Populations Disproportionately Impacted by COVID 19. Published 2021. Accessed 2021. https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/pdi-covid-current-state-report-january-2021.pdf.
10. Koon LM, Greiman L, Schulz JA, et al. Examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on community engagement for people with mobility disabilities. Disabil Health J. 2022;15(1):101212.
11. Hearn JH, Rohn EJ, Monden KR. Isolated and anxious: A qualitative exploration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals living with spinal cord injury in the UK. J Spinal Cord Med. 2021;45(5):1–9.
12. Simpson E, Miller WC, Schmidt J, et al. The COVID-19 pandemic related lived experiences of individuals with spinal cord injury/disease. Front Rehabilit Sci. 2022;3:834909.
13. Reid H, Miller WC, Esfandiari E, et al. The impact of COVID-19-related restrictions on social and daily activities of parents, people with disabilities, and older adults: Protocol for a longitudinal, mixed methods study. JMIR Res Protoc. 2021;10(9):e28337.
14. Sandelowski M. Whatever happened to qualitative description? Res Nurs Health. 2020;23(4):334-340.
15. O'Brien BC, Harris IB, Beckman TJ, et al. Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations. Acad Med. 2014;89(9):1245–1251.
16. Grossoehme D, Lipstein E. Analyzing longitudinal qualitative data: The application of trajectory and recurrent cross-sectional approaches. BMC Res Notes. 2016;9:136.
17. Dey I. Grounding grounded theory. Academic Press; 1999.
18. García-Rudolph A, Saurí J, López Carballo J, et al. The impact of COVID-19 on community integration, quality of life, depression and anxiety in people with chronic spinal cord injury. J Spinal Cord Med. 2021;45(5):1–10.
19. Rudroff T, Fietsam AC, Deters JR, et al. Post-COVID-19 fatigue: Potential contributing factors. Brain Sci. 2020;10(12):1012.
20. Kang Y, Ding H, Zhou H, et al. Epidemiology of worldwide spinal cord injury: A literature review. J Neurorestoratology. 2018;6(1):1-9.
21. Fortin-Bédard N, de Serres-Lafontaine A, Best KL, et al. Experiences of Social Participation for Canadian Wheelchair Users with Spinal Cord Injury during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Disabilities. 2022;2(3):398-414.
22. Gignac M, Shahidi FV, Jetha A, et al. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, financial worries, and perceived organizational support among people living with disabilities in Canada. Disabil Health J. 2021;14(4):101161.
23. Halliday EC, Holt V, Khan K, et al. 'A lot of small things make a difference': Mental health and strategies of coping during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Expect. 2022;25(2):532–540.
24. Bono G, Sender JT. How gratitude connects humans to the best in themselves and in others. Res Hum Dev. 2018;15(3-4):224-237.
25. Sirois FM, Wood AM. Gratitude uniquely predicts lower depression in chronic illness populations: A longitudinal study of inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis. Health Psychol. 2017;36(2):122.
26. Birkmeyer JD, Barnato A, Birkmeyer N, et al. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital admissions in the United States. Health Aff. 2020;39(11).
27. Splinter MJ, Velek P, Ikram MK, et al. Prevalence and determinants of healthcare avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic: A population-based cross-sectional study. PLoS Med. 2021;18(11):e1003854.
28. Kalpakjian CZ, Scelza WM, Forchheimer MB, et al. Preliminary reliability and validity of a spinal cord injury secondary conditions scale. J Spinal Cord Med. 2007;30(2):131–139.
29. Goggin G, Ellis K. Disability, communication, and life itself in the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Soc Rev. 2020;29(2):168–176.
30. Zheng D, Luo Q, Ritchie BW. Afraid to travel after COVID-19? Self-protection, coping and resilience against pandemic ‘travel fear’. Tour Manag. 2021;83:104261.
31. Ogden RS. The passage of time during the UK Covid-19 lockdown. PloS One. 2020;15(7):e0235871.
32. Lindberg S. Perception of Time Has Shifted During COVID-19, New Survey Reports. Verywellmind. Published 2020. Accessed 2022. https://www.verywellmind.com/why-time-is-passing-so-strangely-during-covid-5075438
33. Tucker P, Gilliland J. The effect of season and weather on physical activity: A systematic review. Pub Health. 2007;121(12):909–922.
34. Khasnabis C, Heinicke MK, Achu K, et al. Community-based rehabilitation: CBR guidelines. World Health Organization; 2010.
35. Finlay J, Esposito M, Jim MH, et al. Closure of ‘third places’? Exploring potential consequences for collective health and wellbeing. Health Place. 2019;60:102225.
36. Pérez-Escoda A, Jiménez-Narros C, Perlado-Lamo-de-Espinosa M, et al. ‘Social networks' engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: Health media vs. healthcare professionals. Int J Environ Res Pub Health. 2020;17(14):5261.
37. Dobransky K, Hargittai E. Piercing the pandemic social bubble: Disability and social media use about COVID-19. Am Behav Sci. 2021;65(12):1698-1720.
38. Canale N, Marino C, Lenzi M, et al. How communication technology fosters individual and social wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Preliminary support for a digital interaction model. J Happiness Stud. 2022;23(2):727–745.