Compliance and Psychological Impact of Quarantine in Children and Adolescents due to Covid-19 Pandemic

OBJECTIVES: To examine a cohort of children and adolescents quarantined during Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak in India and to describe their understanding of, compliance with and the psychological impact of quarantine experience. METHODS: One hundred twenty one children and adolescents along with their parents were interviewed regarding their compliance and psychological distress during the quarantine period. A comparable data was also obtained from 131 children and adolescents who were not quarantined. RESULTS: Most of the children and adolescents were non-compliant as compliance with all requirements was low (7.43%), though compliance with community protective measures (17.35%) was better than compliance with household protective measures (10.71%). Quarantined children and adolescents experienced greater psychological distress than non-quarantined children and adolescents (p ˂0.001). Worry (68.59%), helplessness (66.11%) and fear (61.98%) were the most common feelings experienced under quarantine. CONCLUSIONS: The low compliance with quarantine requirements as seen in this study raises a serious concern about the effectiveness of quarantine as a preventive measure of disease transmission. Compliance and mental health problems can be improved by providing adequate financial support and enhanced knowledge about pandemic planning.