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We are pleased to release the report from the study: The Impact of COVID-19 on BC’s children with medical complexity & their families. It can be downloaded from our website: https://spice.nursing.ubc.ca/outreach/
#COVID19 #Research #Children #Families #MedicalComplexity 1/8
#COVID19 #Research #Children #Families #MedicalComplexity 1/8
What is #MedicalComplexity? Common characteristics include: presence of complex, chronic conditions requiring specialized care AND substantial health needs AND functional dependence and/or limitations AND frequent healthcare usage. 1% of Canadian kids are medically complex. 2/8
In August 2020, we received survey responses from 156 parent/guardians of 188 medically-complex kids. Results reveal alarming difficulties faced by families during the pandemic. Challenges cut across health, education, social services & community life. 3/8
Health: 30 % of the children’s parents avoided taking them to the ER in circumstances where they would normally have. Most of the children had their therapies decreased or stopped. 4/8
Education: Between March and May 19.5% of children attended school in-person full-time. This decreased to 10.6% in June. Overall, definitely challenging to access inclusive education. 5/8
Social Services: 38% of children’s parents were not able to access initiatives introduced by the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development to offset the impact of COVID-19 restrictions. 6/8
Parental well-being: The majority of the parents said their mental and physical health were worse compared to a year ago. Almost half of the families had a decrease in their household income since the start of the pandemic. More families are accessing food security programs. 7/8
Recommendations: We have some for each area. Read the report. Consider our recommendations. Families were stretched pre-pandemic. They’ve been pushed into even greater isolation. The consequences for child development will be long-lasting. Will something finally be done? 8/8
PS: And when I say ‘something’, I don’t mean an Advisory Group. I mean tangible help. Creating dedicated, accessible services. Shifting to individualized funding. CAREGIVER PAY. The kinds of stuff that can actually help families. The kinds of things they’ve already asked for.
