Abstract
Background: Families in high-risk communities for COVID-19 transmission experienced a disproportionate burden during the pandemic. This study assessed these families' needs, changes in children's well-being, and perceptions related to the pandemic. Methods: Four online surveys were administered January 2021 to September 2021 to parents of students, enrolled in parochial, kindergarten-eighth grade schools in Chicago neighborhoods with higher COVID-19 incidence rates by ZIP code, compared to the city average, and higher resource need. Results: The response rate was 69.1% (n = 186 of 269) in the baseline survey; and other surveys were at 1 (n = 151), 3 (n = 145), and 5 months (n = 154). Of the sample, 83% of parents identified as Hispanic/Latinx with a mean age of 38.3 years (SD: 8.5). Approximately a quarter of parents reported difficulty paying cable and internet bills (26%) and paying utilities (25%). Parents reported children as happy (94% and 95%, p =.59) and hopeful (96% and 95%, p =.74) at 1-month (February to May 2021) and 5-month surveys (June to September 2021). Parents also reported fewer children were irritable (29% vs 19%, p =.03), felt lonely (17% vs 10%, p =.03), and felt isolated (28% vs 9%, p <.001) between those survey waves. The majority (67%) of parents felt that their child had no difficulty wearing a mask in public. Conclusions: In this longitudinal study, Chicago parents rated children's well-being highly and reported a decrease in negative emotions over time. The areas of need identified may be particularly relevant for outreach and providing resources to Hispanic/Latino families in future emergencies or global health threats.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 219-227 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of School Health |
| Volume | 94 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2024 |
Funding
The authors would like to thank the administrators and parents at Archdiocese of Chicago schools for their collaboration on this study. This work was supported by the Walder Foundation's Chicago Coronavirus Assessment Network (Chicago CAN) initiative. Chicago, IL. Dr. Kan also received support from the National Health, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) (K23HL157615). Dr. Gupta received support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (R01AI130348, U01AI138907). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Walder Foundation or NIH. Funders also had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, writing of the report and in the decision to submit the article for publication.
Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic
- child well-being
- health equity
- schools
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- Philosophy
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
