Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
Lifespan and Population Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK.
BMJ Open. 2023 Mar 1;13(3):e067569. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067569.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) pandemic has had far-reaching consequences for people's lives. In the UK, more than 23 million have been infected and nearly 185 000 have lost their lives. Previous research has looked at differential outcomes of COVID-19, based on socio-demographic factors such as age, sex, ethnicity and deprivation. We conducted a qualitative study with a diverse sample of adults living in the UK, to understand their lived experiences and quality of life (QoL) during the pandemic.
Participants were recruited with the help of civil society partners and community organisations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between May and July 2021. Interviews were recorded with permission and transcribed. Transcripts were analysed following an inductive analytical approach as outlined in the Framework Method.
18 participants (≥16 years) representing different ethnicities, sexes, migration and employment statuses and educational qualifications took part. Five key themes and 14 subthemes were identified and presented using the QoL framework. The five key themes describe how COVID-19 affected the following aspects of QoL: (1) financial and economic, (2) physical health, (3) social, (4) mental health and (5) personal fulfilment and affective well-being. The narratives illustrated inequities in the impact of COVID-19 for individuals with intersecting social, economic, and health disparities.
Our findings demonstrate the multidimensional and differential impact of the pandemic on different population groups, with most of the negative economic impacts being borne by people in low-paid and insecure jobs. Similarly, adverse social, physical and mental health impacts particularly affected people already experiencing displacement, violence, physical and mental illnesses or even those living alone. These findings indicate that COVID-19 impacts have been influenced by intersecting health and socioeconomic inequalities, which pre-existed. These inequities should be taken into consideration while designing pandemic recovery and rebuilding packages.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行对人们的生活产生了深远的影响。在英国，超过 2300 万人感染，近 18.5 万人死亡。以前的研究基于年龄、性别、种族和贫困等社会人口因素，研究了 COVID-19 的不同结果。我们对居住在英国的不同成年人进行了一项定性研究，以了解他们在大流行期间的生活经历和生活质量（QoL）。
在民间社会合作伙伴和社区组织的帮助下招募参与者。2021 年 5 月至 7 月进行了半结构式访谈。经允许并转录了访谈记录。根据框架方法中概述的归纳分析方法对转录本进行了分析。
18 名参与者（≥16 岁）代表不同的种族、性别、移民和就业状况以及教育程度，参与了研究。使用 QoL 框架确定并呈现了五个关键主题和 14 个次主题。五个关键主题描述了 COVID-19 如何影响以下 QoL 方面：（1）财务和经济，（2）身体健康，（3）社会，（4）心理健康和（5）个人实现和情感福祉。这些叙述说明了 COVID-19 对具有社会、经济和健康差异的个体的影响存在差异。
我们的研究结果表明，大流行对不同人群群体的影响具有多维性和差异性，大多数负面的经济影响都由低薪和不稳定工作的人承担。同样，不利的社会、身体和心理健康影响特别影响到已经经历流离失所、暴力、身体和精神疾病甚至独居的人。这些发现表明，COVID-19 的影响受到先前存在的交叉健康和社会经济不平等的影响。在设计大流行后恢复和重建方案时，应考虑这些不平等。
