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Background <p>Few studies have described the consequences of the COVID − 19 pandemic among caregivers of young adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to explore the consequences of COVID-19 on economic, socio-emotional, and household food security conditions among caregivers of young adolescents in a semi-urban setting in the Eastern Region of Ghana.</p> Methods <p>In this cross-sectional study, caregivers of young adolescents aged 10-12yrs in the Somanya-Kpong area were enrolled. These participants were part of the second follow-up of the iLiNS-DYAD Ghana trial. A questionnaire designed from the PhenX Toolkit COVID-19 Protocol and the Food Access and Food Security During COVID-19 Survey (Version 2.1) was used to collect data over 8 months starting January 2022. We used descriptive statistics to summarize data and McNemar Chi-square tests to compare percentages of agreement to statements of household food security conditions “<i>one year before”</i> versus “<i>since”</i> the pandemic outbreak.</p> Results <p>Among 966 caregivers (94% females; 6% males), 89% reported decreased household income compared with the year before the pandemic. Although 72.5% of caregivers continued working during the pandemic, most said they had experienced a reduction in their work hours (72.6%), workload (78.8%) and salaries (63.4%). Many (65%) said their children engaged in educational activities when schools were closed, with 46% hiring private teachers. Caregivers most frequently cited financial concerns (83%) and negative impact on work (79%) as their greatest sources of stress because of COVID-19. Significantly more caregivers reported experiencing household food insecurity conditions “<i>since the outbreak</i>” compared to “<i>one year before the outbreak</i>” (55.4% vs. 19.6%, <i>P</i> &lt; 0.05).</p> Conclusions <p>In this setting, COVID-19 had negative consequences on the economic, socio-emotional, and household food security conditions of caregivers and their young adolescents.</p>

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Economic, socio-emotional, and food security conditions during COVID-19 pandemic among caregivers of young adolescents aged 10–12 yrs in a semi-urban setting in Ghana

  • 期刊论文

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月3日

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  • Mavis O. Mensah,
  • Ebenezer Adjetey,
  • Lois M.D. Aryee,
  • Charles D. Arnold,
  • Elizabeth L. Prado,
  • Paul D. Hastings,
  • Amanda E. Guyer,
  • Brietta M. Oaks,
  • Helena Nti,
  • Helena J. Bentil,
  • Jonnatan Fajardo,
  • Seth Adu-Afarwuah

摘要

Background

Few studies have described the consequences of the COVID − 19 pandemic among caregivers of young adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to explore the consequences of COVID-19 on economic, socio-emotional, and household food security conditions among caregivers of young adolescents in a semi-urban setting in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, caregivers of young adolescents aged 10-12yrs in the Somanya-Kpong area were enrolled. These participants were part of the second follow-up of the iLiNS-DYAD Ghana trial. A questionnaire designed from the PhenX Toolkit COVID-19 Protocol and the Food Access and Food Security During COVID-19 Survey (Version 2.1) was used to collect data over 8 months starting January 2022. We used descriptive statistics to summarize data and McNemar Chi-square tests to compare percentages of agreement to statements of household food security conditions “one year before” versus “since” the pandemic outbreak.

Results

Among 966 caregivers (94% females; 6% males), 89% reported decreased household income compared with the year before the pandemic. Although 72.5% of caregivers continued working during the pandemic, most said they had experienced a reduction in their work hours (72.6%), workload (78.8%) and salaries (63.4%). Many (65%) said their children engaged in educational activities when schools were closed, with 46% hiring private teachers. Caregivers most frequently cited financial concerns (83%) and negative impact on work (79%) as their greatest sources of stress because of COVID-19. Significantly more caregivers reported experiencing household food insecurity conditions “since the outbreak” compared to “one year before the outbreak” (55.4% vs. 19.6%, P < 0.05).

Conclusions

In this setting, COVID-19 had negative consequences on the economic, socio-emotional, and household food security conditions of caregivers and their young adolescents.