ABSTRACT
Purpose of the article: This study explores the impact of the lockdown imposed during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of children with developmental disabilities (DD) and the emotional experiences of their parents. Methods: A total of 81 Romanian parents (90% mothers, M[subscript age] = 39.3, SD[subscript age] = 8.50) of children with DD participated in this cross-sectional study. Information regarding changes in lifestyle, health conditions, and psychosocial reactions of their children during the lockdown as well as measures adopted for compliance to preventive strategies and in dealing with emotions, was gathered. Results: The results of the study revealed that most of the children had restricted access to leisure activities, family doctor consultations, were less active physically, got fewer opportunities to socialise with their peers, had restricted access to rehabilitation therapies, and specialised medical services. Compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures is challenging for children with DD. Results also provided evidence of parents' emotional distress and negative changes in the lives of children with DD, the inability to adopt COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, and negative emotional states experienced by their parents. Conclusions and recommendations: The results highlight the need for authorities and specialists to plan and implement appropriate intervention procedures, to address the outlined issues, to meet the challenges brought forth by the ongoing crisis.
ABSTRACT
Given the negative consequences of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on public health, his study aimed at investigating: (1) the differences between adults with and without chronic illness in buying behavior, vaccination intention, pandemic worry, and the health belief model (HBM) components; (2) the HBM components as mediators of the relationship between pandemic worry and vaccination intention. The sample consisted of 864 adults (66.6% females, M age = 47.61, SD = 9.23), of which 20.5% reported having a chronic illness. Associations between pandemic worry, vaccination intention, and HBM were ascertained using correlation and mediation analyses. Individuals with chronic illness reported a higher level of pandemic worry, higher levels of perceived threat, greater benefits from vaccination, had lower self-efficacy and bought more medicine and sanitary/hygienic products. No significant differences were observed regarding vaccination intention, barriers against vaccination, and changes in food buying behavior. We found that the relationship between pandemic worry and vaccination intention was partially mediated by the perceived threat of disease and the benefits of vaccination. Pandemic worry predicted vaccination intention directly but also through the contribution of the perceived threat of disease and the benefits of vaccination. These findings suggest that presenting evidence of COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and the benefits of having the vaccine (especially for vulnerable groups, such as chronic illness patients) will encourage the population to follow vaccination recommendations.