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Influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on executive skills in Canadians experiencing social vulnerability: A descriptive study

The objective of this study was to describe executive skills in clients experiencing social vulnerability in the context of COVID‐19 from the perspective of social service agency staff. COVID‐19 has required transformational changes to livelihood and day‐to‐day living. Socially vulnerable individual...

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Autores principales: Benzies, Karen M., Perry, Robert, Cope Williams, Jessica
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8652764/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34708472
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13615
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author Benzies, Karen M.
Perry, Robert
Cope Williams, Jessica
author_facet Benzies, Karen M.
Perry, Robert
Cope Williams, Jessica
author_sort Benzies, Karen M.
collection PubMed
description The objective of this study was to describe executive skills in clients experiencing social vulnerability in the context of COVID‐19 from the perspective of social service agency staff. COVID‐19 has required transformational changes to livelihood and day‐to‐day living. Socially vulnerable individuals are likely to be disproportionally impacted because many have experienced serious early childhood adversity, which may compromise their executive skills in adulthood. Using a cross‐sectional survey, we collected data between 05 May 2020 and 03 July 2020, for this mixed methods study of 53 staff in two agencies in western Canada serving clients experiencing social vulnerability. The first case of COVID‐19 in this jurisdiction was identified 05 March 2020. Using investigator‐designed survey items, we captured executive skills in five areas: (a) planning tasks of daily living, (b) managing time, (c) keeping track of information and appointments, (d) managing emotions, and (e) managing self‐control. Staff reported their clients struggled with executive skills and these struggles increased during COVID‐19, particularly in the areas of managing daily tasks and emotional regulation. COVID‐19 restrictions overwhelmed clients with the decisions required to maintain health, employment, and childcare. With the loss of structure and routine, clients lost track of time and delayed completion of tasks, which further increased stress. Disrupted goals and uncertainty about the future contributed to hopelessness for clients who were trying to regain control over their lives, which made it difficult to manage emotions. Some clients acted more impulsively because of the added stressors, lack of routine and access to friends and extended family. A better understanding of the impact of COVID‐19 on socially vulnerable clients will inform social service agencies about areas to focus programming to support their socially vulnerable clients.
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spelling pubmed-86527642021-12-08 Influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on executive skills in Canadians experiencing social vulnerability: A descriptive study Benzies, Karen M. Perry, Robert Cope Williams, Jessica Health Soc Care Community Original Articles The objective of this study was to describe executive skills in clients experiencing social vulnerability in the context of COVID‐19 from the perspective of social service agency staff. COVID‐19 has required transformational changes to livelihood and day‐to‐day living. Socially vulnerable individuals are likely to be disproportionally impacted because many have experienced serious early childhood adversity, which may compromise their executive skills in adulthood. Using a cross‐sectional survey, we collected data between 05 May 2020 and 03 July 2020, for this mixed methods study of 53 staff in two agencies in western Canada serving clients experiencing social vulnerability. The first case of COVID‐19 in this jurisdiction was identified 05 March 2020. Using investigator‐designed survey items, we captured executive skills in five areas: (a) planning tasks of daily living, (b) managing time, (c) keeping track of information and appointments, (d) managing emotions, and (e) managing self‐control. Staff reported their clients struggled with executive skills and these struggles increased during COVID‐19, particularly in the areas of managing daily tasks and emotional regulation. COVID‐19 restrictions overwhelmed clients with the decisions required to maintain health, employment, and childcare. With the loss of structure and routine, clients lost track of time and delayed completion of tasks, which further increased stress. Disrupted goals and uncertainty about the future contributed to hopelessness for clients who were trying to regain control over their lives, which made it difficult to manage emotions. Some clients acted more impulsively because of the added stressors, lack of routine and access to friends and extended family. A better understanding of the impact of COVID‐19 on socially vulnerable clients will inform social service agencies about areas to focus programming to support their socially vulnerable clients. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021-10-27 /pmc/articles/PMC8652764/ /pubmed/34708472 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13615 Text en © 2021 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
spellingShingle Original Articles
Benzies, Karen M.
Perry, Robert
Cope Williams, Jessica
Influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on executive skills in Canadians experiencing social vulnerability: A descriptive study
title Influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on executive skills in Canadians experiencing social vulnerability: A descriptive study
title_full Influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on executive skills in Canadians experiencing social vulnerability: A descriptive study
title_fullStr Influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on executive skills in Canadians experiencing social vulnerability: A descriptive study
title_full_unstemmed Influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on executive skills in Canadians experiencing social vulnerability: A descriptive study
title_short Influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on executive skills in Canadians experiencing social vulnerability: A descriptive study
title_sort influence of the covid‐19 pandemic on executive skills in canadians experiencing social vulnerability: a descriptive study
topic Original Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8652764/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34708472
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13615
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