Life became harder with COVID19 exploring the experiences of the COVID19 pandemic among youth living in eThekwini district South Africa

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Closson_Life_2024 (1.24 MB)
Date
2024- 07
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Biomed Central
Abstract
Background: In South Africa, pervasive age and gender inequities have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and public health response. We aimed to explore experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic among youth in eThekwini district, South Africa. Methods: Between December 2021-May 2022 we explored experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth aged 16–24 residing in eThekwini, South Africa. We collated responses to the open-ended question “Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you in any other way you want to tell us about?” in an online survey focused on understanding the pandemic’s multi-levelled health and social effects. We used a thematic analysis to summarise the responses. Results: Of 2,068 respondents, 256 (12.4%, median age = 22, 60.9% women) completed the open-ended survey question (11% in isiZulu). Results were organized into three main themes encompassing (1) COVID-19-related loss, fear, grief, and exacerbated mental and physical health concerns; (2) COVID-19-related intensified hardships, which contributed to financial, employment, food, education, and relationship insecurities for individuals and households; and (3) positive effects of the pandemic response, including the benefits of government policies and silver linings to government restrictions. Conclusions: We found that South African youth experienced significant grief and multiple losses (e.g., death, income, job, and educational) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trauma-aware interventions that provide economic and educational opportunities must be included in post-COVID recovery efforts.
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Keywords
Adolescents, COVID-19, Health equity, South Africa, Youth
Citation
Closson, K., Dong, E., Zulu, B. et al. ‘Life became harder with COVID-19’: exploring the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic among youth living in eThekwini district, South Africa. BMC Public Health 24, 1922 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19238-7
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10539/41539
Collections
School of Clinical Medicine (Journal Articles)