Impact of COVID-19 on Social Support among Caregivers: A Qualitative Study
摘要
In this study, we qualitatively explored how COVID-19 impacted social support among caregivers for adolescent girls in the Northern region of Ghana, as part of a larger mixed-methods cross-sectional study examining the impact of COVID-19 on household financial stability and family well-being. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 caregivers who were randomly selected using a stratified purposive sampling strategy from 300 caregivers who participated in the quantitative phase of the study. Informed by social support theory, we employed thematic analysis with inductive and deductive approaches for data analysis. The results showed that participants’ main source of social support before COVID-19 was informal in the form of emotional and instrumental support from their families, friends, neighbors, and faith-based institutions. However, the participants’ informal support systems decreased during the COVID-19 period due to COVID-19 protocols and restrictions. While formal/governmental social support increased during the pandemic, many caregivers received limited formal support before and after the pandemic. This study adds to the scant literature on social support and its role during the pandemic in low-resource settings, and calls for prioritizing policy interventions that may strengthen the government’s social protection programs as well as preventive programs to strengthen family relations and resilience.