thesis on impact of covid 19 on education

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Education: A Meta-Narrative Review

• Original Paper
• Published: 05 July 2022
• Volume 66 , pages 883–896, ( 2022 )

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• Aras Bozkurt   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4520-642X 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Kadir Karakaya   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3375-1532 4 ,
• Murat Turk   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5105-2578 5 ,
• Özlem Karakaya   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9950-481X 6 &
• Daniela Castellanos-Reyes   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0183-1549 7  

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The rapid and unexpected onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic has generated a great degree of uncertainty about the future of education and has required teachers and students alike to adapt to a new normal to survive in the new educational ecology. Through this experience of the new educational ecology, educators have learned many lessons, including how to navigate through uncertainty by recognizing their strengths and vulnerabilities. In this context, the aim of this study is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the publications covering COVID-19 and education to analyze the impact of the pandemic by applying the data mining and analytics techniques of social network analysis and text-mining. From the abstract, title, and keyword analysis of a total of 1150 publications, seven themes were identified: (1) the great reset, (2) shifting educational landscape and emerging educational roles (3) digital pedagogy, (4) emergency remote education, (5) pedagogy of care, (6) social equity, equality, and injustice, and (7) future of education. Moreover, from the citation analysis, two thematic clusters emerged: (1) educational response, emergency remote education affordances, and continuity of education, and (2) psychological impact of COVID-19. The overlap between themes and thematic clusters revealed researchers’ emphasis on guaranteeing continuity of education and supporting the socio-emotional needs of learners. From the results of the study, it is clear that there is a heightened need to develop effective strategies to ensure the continuity of education in the future, and that it is critical to proactively respond to such crises through resilience and flexibility.

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Introduction

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has proven to be a massive challenge for the entire world, imposing a radical transformation in many areas of life, including education. It was rapid and unexpected; the world was unprepared and hit hard. The virus is highly contagious, having a pathogenic nature whose effects have not been limited to humans alone, but rather, includes every construct and domain of societies, including education. The education system, which has been affected at all levels, has been required to respond to the crisis, forced to transition into emergency modes, and adapt to the unprecedented impact of the global crisis. Although the beginning of 2021 will mark nearly a year of experience in living through the pandemic, the crisis remains a phenomenon with many unknowns. A deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the changes that have been made in response to the crisis is needed to survive in these hard times. Hence, this study aims to provide a better understanding by examining the scholarly publications on COVID-19 and education. In doing this, we can identify our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, be better prepared for the new normal, and be more fit to survive.

Related Literature

Though the COVID-19 pandemic is not the first major disruption to be experienced in the history of the world, it has been unique due to its scale and the requirements that have been imposed because of it (Guitton, 2020 ). The economies of many countries have greatly suffered from the lockdowns and other restrictive measurements, and people have had to adapt to a new lifestyle, where their primary concern is to survive by keeping themselves safe from contracting the deadly virus. The education system has not been exempt from this series of unfortunate events inflicted by COVID-19. Since brick-and-mortar schools had to be closed due to the pandemic, millions of students, from those in K-12 to those in higher education, were deprived of physical access to their classrooms, peers, and teachers (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020a , b ). This extraordinary pandemic period has posed arguably the most challenging and complex problems ever for educators, students, schools, educational institutions, parents, governments, and all other educational stakeholders. The closing of brick-and-mortar schools and campuses rendered online teaching and learning the only viable solution to the problem of access-to-education during this emergency period (Hodges et al., 2020 ). Due to the urgency of this move, teachers and instructors were rushed to shift all their face-to-face instruction and instructional materials to online spaces, such as learning management systems or electronic platforms, in order to facilitate teaching virtually at a distance. As a result of this sudden migration to learning and instruction online, the key distinctions between online education and education delivered online during such crisis and emergency circumstances have been obfuscated (Hodges et al., 2020 ).

State of the Current Relevant Literature

Although the scale of the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on education overshadows previously experienced nationwide or global crises or disruptions, the phenomenon of schools and higher education institutions having to shift their instruction to online spaces is not totally new to the education community and academia (Johnson et al., 2020 ). Prior literature on this subject indicates that in the past, schools and institutions resorted to online or electronic delivery of instruction in times of serious crises and uncertainties, including but not limited to natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes (e.g., Ayebi-Arthur, 2017 ; Lorenzo, 2008 ; Tull et al., 2017 ), local disruptions such as civil wars and socio-economic events such as political upheavals, social turmoils or economic recessions (e.g., Czerniewicz et al., 2019 ). Nevertheless, the past attempts to move learning and teaching online do not compare to the current efforts that have been implemented during the global COVID-19 pandemic, insofar as the past crisis situations were sporadic events in specific territories, affecting a limited population for relatively short periods of time. In contrast, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to pose a serious threat to the continuity of education around the globe (Johnson et al., 2020 ).

Considering the scale and severity of the global pandemic, the impacts it has had on education in general and higher education in particular need to be explored and studied empirically so that necessary plans and strategies aimed at reducing its devastating effects can be developed and implemented. Due to the rapid onset and spread of the global pandemic, the current literature on the impact of COVID-19 on education is still limited, including mostly non-academic editorials or non-empirical personal reflections, anecdotes, reports, and stories (e.g., Baker, 2020 ; DePietro, 2020 ). Yet, with that said, empirical research on the impact of the global pandemic on higher education is rapidly growing. For example, Johnson et al. ( 2020 ), in their empirical study, found that faculty members who were struggling with various challenges adopted new instructional methods and strategies and adjusted certain course components to foster emergency remote education (ERE). Unger and Meiran ( 2020 ) observed that the pandemic made students in the US feel anxious about completing online learning tasks. In contrast, Suleri ( 2020 ) reported that a large majority of European higher education students were satisfied with their virtual learning experiences during the pandemic, and that most were willing to continue virtual higher education even after the pandemic (Suleri, 2020 ). The limited empirical research also points to the need for systematically planning and designing online learning experiences in advance in preparation for future outbreaks of such global pandemics and other crises (e.g., Korkmaz & Toraman, 2020 ). Despite the growing literature, the studies provide only fragmentary evidence on the impact of the pandemic on online learning and teaching. For a more thorough understanding of the serious implications the pandemic has for higher education in relation to learning and teaching online, more empirical research is needed.

Unlike previously conducted bibliometric analysis studies on this subject, which have largely involved general analysis of research on health sciences and COVID-19, Aristovnik et al. ( 2020 ) performed an in-depth bibliometric analysis of various science and social science research disciplines by examining a comprehensive database of document and source information. By the final phase of their bibliometric analysis, the authors had analyzed 16,866 documents. They utilized a mix of innovative bibliometric approaches to capture the existing research and assess the state of COVID-19 research across different research landscapes (e.g., health sciences, life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities). Their findings showed that most COVID-19 research has been performed in the field of health sciences, followed by life sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences and humanities. Results from the keyword co-occurrence analysis revealed that health sciences research on COVID-19 tended to focus on health consequences, whereas the life sciences research on the subject tended to focus on drug efficiency. Moreover, physical sciences research tended to focus on environmental consequences, and social sciences and humanities research was largely oriented towards socio-economic consequences.

Similarly, Rodrigues et al. ( 2020 ) carried out a bibliometric analysis of COVID-19 related studies from a management perspective in order to elucidate how scientific research and education arrive at solutions to the pandemic crisis and the post-COVID-19 era. In line with Aristovnik et al.’s ( 2020 ) findings, Rodrigues et al. ( 2020 ) reported that most of the published research on this subject has fallen under the field of health sciences, leaving education as an under-researched area of inquiry. The content analysis they performed in their study also found a special emphasis on qualitative research. The descriptive and content analysis yielded two major strands of studies: (1) online education and (2) COVID-19 and education, business, economics, and management. The online education strand focused on the issue of technological anxiety caused by online classes, the feeling of belonging to an academic community, and feedback.

Lastly, Bond ( 2020 ) conducted a rapid review of K-12 research undertaken in the first seven months of the COVID-19 pandemic to identify successes and challenges and to offer recommendations for the future. From a search of K-12 research on the Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOHost, the Microsoft Academic, and the COVID-19 living systematic map, 90 studies were identified and analyzed. The findings revealed that the reviewed research has focused predominantly on the challenges to shifting to ERE, teacher digital competencies and digital infrastructure, teacher ICT skills, parent engagement in learning, and students’ health and well-being. The review highlighted the need for straightforward communication between schools and families to inform families about learning activities and to promote interactivity between students. Teachers were also encouraged to develop their professional networks to increase motivation and support amongst themselves and to include opportunities for both synchronous and asynchronous interaction for promoting student engagement when using technology. Bond ( 2020 ) reported that the reviewed studies called for providing teachers with opportunities to further develop their digital technical competencies and their distance and online learning pedagogies. In a recent study that examines the impact of COVID-19 at higher education (Bozkurt, 2022 ), three broad themes from the body of research on this subject: (1) educational crisis and higher education in the new normal: resilience, adaptability, and sustainability, (2) psychological pressures, social uncertainty, and mental well-being of learners, and (3) the rise of online distance education and blended-hybrid modes. The findings of this study are similar to Mishra et al. ( 2021 ) who examined the COVID-19 pandemic from the lens of online distance education and noted that technologies for teaching and learning and psychosocial issues were emerging issues.

The aforementioned studies indicate that a great majority of research on COVID-19 has been produced in the field of health sciences, as expected. These studies nonetheless note that there is a noticeable shortage of studies dealing with the effects of the pandemic in the fields of social sciences, humanities, and education. Given the profound impact of the pandemic on learning and teaching, as well as on the related stakeholders in education, now more than ever, a greater amount of research on COVID-19 needs to be conducted in the field of education. The bibliometric studies discussed above have analyzed COVID-19 research across various fields, yielding a comparative snapshot of the research undertaken so far in different research spheres. However, despite being comprehensive, these studies did not appear to have examined a specific discipline or area of research in depth. Therefore, this bibliometric study aims to provide a focused, in-depth analysis of the COVID-19-related research in the field of education. In this regard, the main purpose of this study is to identify research patterns and trends in the field of education by examining COVID-19-related research papers. The study sought to answer the following research questions:

What are the thematic patterns in the title, abstract, and keywords of the publications on COVID-19 and education?

What are the citation trends in the references of the sampled publications on COVID-19 and education?

Methodology

This study used data mining and analytic approaches (Fayyad et al., 2002 ) to examine bibliometric patterns and trends. More specifically, social network analysis (SNA) (Hansen et al., 2020 ) was applied to examine the keywords and references, while text-mining was applied (Aggarwal & Zhai, 2012 ) to examine the titles and abstracts of the research corpus. Keywords represent the essence of an article at a micro level and for the analysis of the keywords, SNA was used. SNA “provides powerful ways to summarize networks and identify key people, [entities], or other objects that occupy strategic locations and positions within a matrix of links” (Hansen et al., 2020 , p. 6). In this regard, the keywords were analyzed based on their co-occurrences and visualized on a network graph by identifying the significant keywords which were demonstrated as nodes and their relationships were demonstrated with ties. For text-mining of the titles and abstracts, the researchers performed a lexical analysis that employs “two stages of co-occurrence information extraction—semantic and relational—using a different algorithm for each stage” (Smith & Humphreys, 2006 , p. 262). Thus, text-mining analysis enabled researchers to identify the hidden patterns and visualize them on a thematic concept map. For the analysis of the references, the researchers further used SNA based on the arguments that “citing articles and cited articles are linked to each other through invisible ties, and they collaboratively and collectively build an intellectual community that can be referred to as a living network, structure, or an ecology” (Bozkurt, 2019 , p. 498). The analysis of the references enabled the researchers to identify pivotal scholarly contributions that guided and shaped the intellectual landscape. The use of multiple approaches enables the study to present a broader view, or a meta-narrative.

Sample and Inclusion Criteria

The publications included in this research met the following inclusion criteria: (1) indexed by the Scopus database, (2) written in English, and (3) had the search queries on their title (Table 1 ). The search query reflects the focus on the impact of COVID-19 on education by including common words in the field like learn , teach , or student . Truncation was also used in the search to capture all relevant literature. Narrowing down the search allowed us to exclude publications that were not education related. Scopus was selected because it is one of the largest scholarly databases, and only publications in English were selected to facilitate identification of meaningful lexical patterns through text-mining and provide a condensed view of the research. The search yielded a total of 1150 papers (articles = 887, editorials = 66, notes = 58, conference papers = 56, letters = 40, review studies = 30, book chapters = 9, short surveys = 3, books = 1).

Data Analysis and Research Procedures

This study has two phases of analysis. In the first phase, text mining was used to analyze titles and abstracts, and SNA was applied to analyze keywords. By using two different analytical approaches, the authors were able to triangulate the research findings (Thurmond, 2001 ). In this phase, using lexical algorithms, text mining analysis enabled visualizing the textual data on a thematic concept map according to semantic relationships and co-occurrences of the words (Fig.  1 ). Text mining generated a machine-based concept map by analyzing the co-occurrences and lexical relationships of textual data. Then, based on the co-occurrences and centrality metrics, SNA enabled visualizing keywords on a network graphic called sociogram (Fig.  2 ). SNA allowed researchers to visually identify the key terms on a connected network graph where keywords are represented as nodes and their relationships are represented as edges. In the first phase of the study, by synthesizing outputs of the data mining and analytic approaches, meaningful patterns of textual data were presented as seven main research themes.

Thematic concept mapping of COVID-19 and education-related papers

Social networks analysis of the keywords in COVID-19 and education-related papers

In the second phase of the study, through the examination of the references and citation patterns (e.g., citing and being cited) of the articles in the research corpus, the citation patterns were visualized on a network graphic by clusters (See Fig.  3 ) showing also chronical relationships which enabled to identify pivotal COVID-19 studies. In the second phase of the study, two new themes were identified which were in line with the themes that emerged in the first phase of the study.

Social networks analysis of the references in COVID-19 and education-related papers 2019–2020 (Only the first authors were labeled – See Appendix Fig. 4 for SNA of references covering pre-COVID-19 period)

Strengths and Limitations

This study is one of the first attempts to use bibliometric approaches benefiting from data mining and analysis techniques to better understand COVID-19 and its consequences on published educational research. By applying such an approach, a large volume of data is able to be visualized and reported. However, besides these strengths, the study also has certain limitations. First, the study uses the Scopus database, which, though being one of the largest databases, does not include all types of publications. Therefore, the publications selected for this study offer only a partial view, as there are many significant publications in gray literature (e.g., reports, briefs, blogs). Second, the study includes only publications written in English, however, with COVID-19 being a global crisis, publications in different languages would provide a complementary view and be helpful in understanding local reflections in the field of education.

Findings and Discussion

Sna and text-mining: thematic patterns in the title, abstract, and keywords of the publications.

This section reports the findings based on a thematic concept map and network graphic that were developed through text mining (Fig.  1 —Textual data composed of 186.234 words visualized according to lexical relationships and co-occurrences) and sociograms created using SNA (Fig.  2 —The top 200 keywords with highest betweenness centrality and 1577 connections among them mapped on a network graph) to visualize the data. Accordingly, seven major themes were identified by analyzing the data through text-mining and SNA: (1) the great reset, (2) digital pedagogy, (3) shifting educational landscape and emerging educational roles, (4) emergency remote education, (5) pedagogy of care, (6) social equity, equality, and injustice, and (7) future of education.

Theme 1: The Great Reset (See path Fig.  1 : lockdown  +  emergency  +  community  +  challenges  +  during  >  pandemic and impact  >  outbreak  >  coronavirus  >  pandemic and global  >  crisis  >  pandemic  >  world; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Covid19, pandemic, Coronavirus, lockdown, crisis ). The first theme in the thematic concept map and network graphic is the Great Reset. It has been relatively a short time since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 a pandemic. Although vaccination had already started, the pandemic continued to have an adverse impact on the world. Ever since the start of the pandemic, people were discussing when there would be a return to normal (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020a , b ; Xiao, 2021 ); however, as time goes by, this hope has faded, and returning to normal appears to be far into the future (Schwab & Malleret, 2020 ). The pandemic is seen as a major milestone, in the sense that a macro reset in economic, social, geopolitical, environmental, and technological fields will produce multi-faceted changes affecting almost all aspects of life (Schwab & Malleret, 2020 ). The cover of an issue of the international edition of Time Magazine reflected this idea of a great reset and presented the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to transform the way we live and work (Time, 2020 ). It has been argued that the pandemic will generate the emergence of a new era, and that we will have to adapt to the changes it produces (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020 ). For example, the industrial sector quickly embraced remote work despite its challenges, and it is possible that most industrial companies will not return to the on-site working model even after the pandemic ends (Hern, 2020 ). We can expect a high rate of similar responses in other fields, including education, where COVID-19 has already reshaped our educational systems, the way we deliver education, and pedagogical approaches.

Theme 2: Digital pedagogy (See path on Fig.  1 : distance learning  >  research  >  teacher  >  development  >  need  >  training  +  technology  +  virtual  >  digital  >  communication  >  support  >  process  >  teaching  >  online  >  learning  >  online learning  +  course  >  faculty  >  students  >  experience ; See nodes on Fig.  2 : online learning, distance learning, computer-based learning, elearning, online education, distance education, online teaching, multimedia-based learning, technology, blended learning, online, digital transformation, ICT, online classes, flexible learning, technology-enhanced learning, digitalization ). Owing to the rapid transition to online education as a result of COVID-19, digital pedagogy and teachers’ competencies in information and communication technology (ICT) integration have gained greater prominence with the unprecedented challenges teachers have faced to adapt to remote teaching and learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has unquestionably manifested the need to prepare teachers to teach online, as most of them have been forced to assume ERE roles with inadequate preparation. Studies involving the use of SNA indicate a correspondence between adapting to a digital pedagogy and the need to equip teachers with greater competency in technology and online teaching (e.g., Blume, 2020 ; König et al., 2020 ). König et al. ( 2020 ) conducted a survey-based study investigating how early career teachers have adapted to online teaching during COVID-19 school closures. Their study found that while all the teachers maintained communication with students and their parents, introduced new learning content, and provided feedback, they lacked the ability to respond to challenges requiring ICT integration, such as those related to providing quality online teaching and to conducting assessments. Likewise, Blume ( 2020 ) noted that most teachers need to acquire digital skills to implement digitally-mediated pedagogy and communication more effectively. Both study findings point to the need for building ICT-related teaching and learning competencies in initial teacher education and teacher professional development. The findings from the SNA conducted in the present study are in line with the aforementioned findings in terms of keyword analysis and overlapping themes and nodes.

Theme 3: Shifting educational landscape and emerging educational roles (See path on Fig.  1 : future > education > role > Covid19; See nodes on Fig.  2 : higher education, education, student, curriculum, university, teachers, learning, professional development, teacher education, knowledge, readiness ). The role of technology in education and human learning has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology has become a prerequisite for learning and teaching during the pandemic and will likely continue to be so after it. In the rapid shift to an unprecedented mode of learning and teaching, stakeholders have had to assume different roles in the educational landscape of the new normal. For example, in a comprehensive study involving the participation of over 30 K higher education students from 62 countries conducted by Aristovnik et al. ( 2020 ), it was found that students with certain socio-demographic characteristics (male, lower living standard, from Africa or Asia) were significantly less satisfied with the changes to work/life balance created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that female students who were facing financial problems were generally more affected by COVID-19 in their emotional life and personal circumstances. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, there is likely to be carry over in the post-pandemic era of some of the educational changes made during the COVID-19 times. For example, traditional lecture-based teacher-centered classes may be replaced by more student-centered online collaborative classes (Zhu & Liu, 2020 ). This may require the development and proliferation of open educational platforms that allow access to high-quality educational materials (Bozkurt et al., 2020 ) and the adoption of new roles to survive in the learning ecologies informed by digital learning pedagogies. In common with the present study, the aforementioned studies (e.g., Aristovnik et al., 2020 ; König et al., 2020 ) call for more deliberate actions to improve teacher education programs by offering training on various teaching approaches, such as blended, hybrid, flexible, and online learning, to better prepare educators for emerging roles in the post-pandemic era.

Theme 4: Emergency remote education (see path Fig.  1 : higher education  >  university  >  student  >  experience  >  remote; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Covid19, pandemic, Coronavirus, higher education, education, school closure, emergency remote teaching, emergency remote learning ). Educational institutions have undergone a rapid shift to ERE in the wake of COVID-19 (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020a ; Bozkurt et al., 2020 ; Hodges et al., 2020 ). Although ERE is viewed as similar to distance education, they are essentially different. That is, ERE is a prompt response measure to an emergency situation or unusual circumstances, such as a global pandemic or a civil war, for a temporary period of time, whereas distance education is a planned and systematic approach to instructional design and development grounded in educational theory and practice (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020b ). Due to the urgent nature of situations requiring ERE, it may fall short in embracing the solid pedagogical learning and teaching principles represented by distance education (Hodges et al., 2020 ). The early implementations of ERE primarily involved synchronous video-conferencing sessions that sought to imitate in-person classroom instruction. It is worth noting that educators may have heavily relied on synchronous communication to overcome certain challenges, such as the lack of available materials and planned activities for asynchronous communication. Lockdowns and school closures, which turned homes into compulsory learning environments, have posed major challenges for families and students, including scheduling, device sharing, and learner engagement in a socially distanced home learning environment (Bond, 2020 ). For example, Shim and Lee ( 2020 ) conducted a qualitative study exploring university students’ ERE experiences and reported that students complained about network instability, unilateral interactions, and reduced levels of concentration. The SNA findings clearly highlight that there has been a focus on ERE due to the school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is key to adopt the best practices of ERE and to utilize them regularly in distance education (Bozkurt, 2022 ). Moreover, it is important to note that unless clear distinctions are drawn between these two different forms of distance education or virtual instruction, a series of unfortunate events in education during these COVID-19 times is very likely to take place and lead to fatal errors in instructional practices and to poor student learning outcomes.

Theme 5: Pedagogy of care (See path Fig.  1 : r ole  >  education  >  Covid19  >  care ; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Stress, anxiety, student wellbeing, coping, care, crisis management, depression ). The thematic concept map and network graphic show the psychological and emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various stakeholders, revealing that they have experienced anxiety, expressed the need for care, and sought coping strategies. A study by Baloran ( 2020 ), conducted in the southern part of the Philippines to examine college students’ knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and personal coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, found that the majority of the students experienced anxiety during the lockdown and worried about food security, financial resources, social contact, and large gatherings. It was reported that the students coped with this anxiety by following protective measures, chatting with family members and friends, and motivating themselves to have a positive attitude. In a similar study, Islam et al. ( 2020 ) conducted an investigation to determine whether Bangladeshi college students experienced anxiety and depression and the factors responsible for these emotional responses. Their cross-sectional survey-based study found that a large percentage of the participants had suffered from anxiety and depression during the pandemic. Academic and professional uncertainty, as well as financial insecurity, have been documented as factors contributing to the anxiety and depression among college students. Both studies point to the need for support mechanisms to be established by higher education institutions in order to ensure student wellbeing, provide them with care, and help them to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression. Talidong and Toquero ( 2020 ) reported that, in addition to students’ well-being and care, teachers’ perceptions and experiences of stress and anxiety during the quarantine period need to be taken into account. The authors found that teachers were worried about the safety of their loved ones and were susceptible to anxiety but tended to follow the preventive policies. A pedagogy of care has been presented as an approach that would effectively allow educators to plan more supportive teaching practices during the pandemic by fostering clear and prompt communication with students and their families and taking into consideration learner needs in lesson planning (e.g., Karakaya, 2021 ; Robinson et al., 2020 ). Here it is important to stress that a pedagogy of care is a multifaceted concept, one that involves the concepts of social equity, equality, and injustice.

Theme 6: Social equity, equality, and injustice (See path on Fig.  1 : Impact  >  outbreak  >  coronavirus  >  pandemic  >  social ; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Support, equity, social justice, digital divide, inequality, social support ). One of the more significant impacts of COVID-19 has been the deepening of the existing social injustices around the world (Oldekop et al., 2020 ; Williamson et al., 2020 ). Long-term school closures have deteriorated social bonds and adversely affected health issues, poverty, economy, food insecurity, and digital divide (Van Lancker & Parolin, 2020 ). Regarding the digital divide, there has been a major disparity in access to devices and data connectivity between high-income and low-income populations increasing the digital divide, social injustice, and inequality in the world (Bozkurt et al., 2020 ). In line with the SNA findings, the digital divide, manifesting itself most visibly in the inadequacy and insufficiency of digital devices and lack of high-speed Internet, can easily result in widespread inequalities. As such, the disparities between low and high socio-economic status families and school districts in terms of digital pedagogy inequality may deepen as teachers in affluent schools are more likely to offer a wide range of online learning activities and thereby secure better student engagement, participation, and interaction (Greenhow et al., 2020 ). These findings demonstrate that social inequities have been sharpened by the unfortunate disparities imposed by the COVID-19, thus requiring us to reimagine a future that mitigates such concerns.

Theme 7: Future of education (See word path on Fig.  1 : Future  >  education  >  Covid19  >  pandemic  >  changes and pandemic  >  coronavirus, outbreak, impact  >  world ; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Sustainability, resilience, uncertainty, sdg4). Most significantly, COVID-19 the pandemic has shown the entire world that teachers and schools are invaluable resources and execute critical roles in society. Beyond that, with the compulsory changes resulting from the pandemic, it is evident that teaching and learning environments are not exclusive to brick-and-mortar classrooms. Digital technologies, being at the center of teaching and learning during the pandemic period, have been viewed as a pivotal agent in leveraging how learning takes place beyond the classroom walls (Quilter-Pinner & Ambrose, 2020 ). COVID-19 has made some concerns more visible. For example, the well-being of students, teachers, and society at large has gained more importance in these times of crisis. Furthermore, the need for educational technology and digital devices has compounded and amplified social inequities (Pelletier et al., 2021 ; West & Allen, 2020 ). Despite its global challenges, the need for technology and digital devices has highlighted some advantages that are likely to shape the future of education, particularly those related to the benefits of educational technology. For example, online learning could provide a more flexible, informal, self-paced learning environment for students (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020 ). However, it also bears the risk of minimizing social interaction, as working in shared office environments has shifted to working alone in home-office settings. In this respect, the transformation of online education must involve a particular emphasis on sustaining interactivity through technology (Dwivedi et al., 2020 ). In view of the findings of the aforementioned studies, our text-mining and SNA findings suggest that the COVID-19 impositions may strongly shape the future of education and how learning takes place.

In summary, these themes extracted from the text-mining and SNA point to a significant milestone in the history of humanity, a multi-faceted reset that will affect many fields of life, from education and economics to sociology and lifestyle. The resulting themes have revealed that our natural response to an emerging worldwide situation shifted the educational landscape. The early response of the educational system was emergency-based and emphasized the continuance of in-person instruction via synchronous learning technologies. The subsequent response foregrounded the significance of digitally mediated learning pedagogy, related teacher competencies, and professional development. As various stakeholders (e.g., students, teachers, parents) have experienced a heightened level of anxiety and stress, an emerging strand of research has highlighted the need for care-based and trauma-informed pedagogies as a response to the side effects of the pandemic. In addition, as the global pandemic has made systemic impairments, such as social injustice and inequity, more visible, an important line of research has emerged on how social justice can be ensured given the challenges caused by the pandemic. Lastly, a sizable amount of research indicates that although the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed unprecedented challenges to our personal, educational, and social lives, it has also taught us how to respond to future crises in a timely, technologically-ready, pedagogically appropriate, and inclusive manner.

SNA: Citation Trends in the References of the Sampled Publications

The trends identified through SNA in citation patterns indicate two lines of thematic clusters (see Fig.  3 -A network graph depicting the citing and being cited patterns in the research corpus. Node sizes were defined by their citation count and betweenness centrality.). These clusters align with the results of the analysis of the titles, abstracts, and keywords of the sampled publications and forge the earlier themes (Theme 4: Emergency remote education and Theme 5: Pedagogy of care).

Thematic Cluster 1: The first cluster centers on the abilities of educational response, emergency remote education affordances, and continuity of education (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020a ; Crawford et al., 2020 ; Hodges et al., 2020 ) to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on education, especially for more vulnerable and disadvantaged groups (UNESCO, 2020 ; Viner et al., 2020 ). The thematic cluster one agrees with the theme four emergency remote education . The first trend line (See red line in Fig.  3 ) shows that the education system is vulnerable to external threats. Considering that interruption of education is not exclusive to pandemics – for example, political crises have also caused disruptions (Rapp et al., 2016 ) – it is clear that coping mechanisms are needed to ensure the continuity of education under all conditions. In this case, we need to reimagine and recalibrate education to make it resilient, flexible, and adaptive, not only to ensure the continuity of education, but also to ensure social justice, equity, and equality. Given that online education has its own limitations (e.g., it is restricted to online tools and infrastructures), we need to identify alternative entry points for those who do not have digital devices or lack access to the internet.

Thematic Cluster 2: The second cluster centers on the psychological impact of COVID-19 on learners, who during these times suffered a sense of uncertainty (Bozkurt, & Sharma, 2021 ; Cao et al., 2020 ; Rose, 2020 ; Sahu, 2020 ) which suggest that learners are experiencing difficult times that can result in psychological and mental problems. The thematic cluster two agrees with theme five which is pedagogy of care . Therefore, it can be argued that learners' psychological and emotional states should be a top priority. Brooks et al. ( 2020 ) reported the potential of post-traumatic issues with long-lasting effects, on top of the trauma that has already been suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. In other words, the effects of the COVID-19 crisis may prove to extend beyond their current state and add long-term challenges. Additionally, it has further been reported that the socio-economic effects of the pandemic (Nicola et al., 2020 ) may cause inequality and inequity in educational communities (Beaunoyer et al., 2020 ). The research also shows that learners’ achievement gaps are positively associated with psychological issues, while support and care are negatively associated with their traumatic states (Cao et al., 2020 ). In this context, the second thematic cluster reveals that researchers have seriously considered the psychological and emotional needs of learners in their publications. Care (Noddings, 1984 ) and that trauma-informed pedagogy (Imad, 2020 ) can be a guideline during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It is quite clear that learners have experienced educational loss (e.g., drop-outs, achievement gaps, academic procrastination, etc.), as well as social and emotional impairments (e.g., fear, frustration, confusion, anxiety, sense of isolation, death of loved ones, etc.). Therefore, we need to critically approach the situation, focusing first on healing our social and emotional losses, and then, on the educational losses. As Bozkurt and Sharma ( 2020a ) put it:

“What we teach in these times can have secondary importance. We have to keep in mind that students will remember not the educational content delivered, but how they felt during these hard times. With an empathetic approach, the story will not center on how to successfully deliver educational content, but it will be on how learners narrate these times” (p. iv).

Conclusion and Suggestions

The results from this study indicate that quick adaptability and flexibility have been key to surviving the substantial challenges generated by COVID-19. However, extreme demands on flexibility have taken a toll on human well-being and have exacerbated systemic issues like inequity and inequality. Using data mining that involved network analysis and text mining as analytical tools, this research provides a panoramic picture of the COVID-19-related themes educational researchers have addressed in their work. A sample of 1150 references yielded seven themes, which served to provide a comprehensive meta-narrative about COVID-19 and its impact on education.

A portion of the sampled publications focused on what we refer to as the great reset , highlighting the challenges that the emergency lockdown brought to the world. A publication pattern centered around digital pedagogy posited distance and online learning as key components and identified the need for teacher training. Given the need for adaptability, a third theme revealed the demand for professional development in higher education and a future shift in educational roles. It can be recommended that future research investigate institutional policy changes and the adaptation to these changes in renewed educational roles. The ERE theme centered on the lack of preparation in instituting the forced changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The publications related to this theme revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered silent threads in educational environments, like depression, inequality, and injustice. A pedagogy of care has been developed with the aim of reducing anxiety and providing support through coping strategies. These research patterns indicate that the future of education demands sustainability and resilience in the face of uncertainty.

Results of the thematic analysis of citation patterns (Fig.  3 ) overlapped with two of the themes found in our thematic concept map (Fig.  1 ) and network graphic (Fig.  2 ). It was shown that researchers have emphasized the continuity of education and the psychological effects of the COVID-19 crisis on learners. Creating coping strategies to deal with global crises (e.g., pandemics, political upheavals, natural disasters) has been shown to be a priority for educational researchers. The pedagogy of resilience (Purdue University Innovative learning, n.d. ) provides governments, institutions, and instructors with an alternative tool to applying to their contexts in the face of hardship. Furthermore, prioritizing the psychological long-term effects of the crisis in learners could alleviate achievement gaps. We recommend that researchers support grieving learners through care (Noddings, 1984 ) and trauma-informed pedagogy (Imad, 2020 ). Our resilience and empathy will reflect our preparedness for impending crises. The thematic analysis of citation patterns (1: educational response, emergency remote education affordances, and continuity of education; 2: psychological impact of COVID-19) further indicates suggestions for future instructional/learning designers. Freire ( 1985 ) argues that to transform the world we need to humanize it. Supporting that argument, the need for human-centered pedagogical approaches (Robinson et al., 2020 ) by considering learning a multifaceted process (Hodges et al., 2021 ) for well-designed learning experiences (Moore et al., 2021 ) is a requirement and instructional/learning designers have an important responsibility not only to design courses but an entire learning ecosystem where diversity, sensitivity, and inclusivity are prioritized.

ERE is not a representative feature in the field of online education or distance education but rather, a forced reaction to extraordinary circumstances in education. The increasing confusion between the practice of ERE and online learning could have catastrophic consequences in learners' outcomes, teachers' instructional practices, and institutional policies. Researchers, educators, and policymakers must work cooperatively and be guided by sound work in the field of distance learning to design nourishing educational environments that serve students’ best interests.

In this study, text mining and social network analysis were demonstrated to be powerful tools for exploring and visualizing patterns in COVID-19-related educational research. However, a more in-depth examination is still needed to synthesize effective strategies that can be used to support us in future crises. Systematic reviews that use classical manual coding techniques may take more time but increase our understanding of a phenomenon and help us to develop specific action plans. Future systematic reviews can use the seven themes identified in this study to analyze primary studies and find strategies that counteract the survival of the fittest mindset to ensure that no student is left behind.

Data Availability

The dataset is available from the authors upon request.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is dedicated to all educators and instructional/learning designers who ensured the continuity of education during the tough times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article is produced as a part of the 2020 AECT Mentoring Program.

This paper is supported by Anadolu University, Scientific Research Commission with grant no: 2106E084.

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Bozkurt, A., Karakaya, K., Turk, M. et al. The Impact of COVID-19 on Education: A Meta-Narrative Review. TechTrends 66 , 883–896 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00759-0

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Education Experiences of High School Students in Semi-Rural Georgia Open Access

Ashta, jasleen (spring 2021).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of schools and transition to online learning across the country. High school students, especially those belonging to populations most heavily impacted by the virus, experienced many obstacles and challenges to their education. This study examines the consequences of the pandemic on high school students shortly after the closure of public school buildings, and how these impacts vary by race/ethnicity, gender, grade level, socioeconomic status, and academic performance prior to the pandemic.

Methods: Racial/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse students (n=666) from two high schools in semi-rural Georgia completed a cross-sectional, one-time online survey. Survey results were linked to education and demographic data provided by the school district.

Results: While students largely felt supported by their teachers and school staff and 43% of students believed that they could excel academically during the coronavirus pandemic, approximately 60% expressed academic worry and obstacles to virtual learning, such as unclear expectations from teachers and social isolation. Differences by race/ethnicity, gender, grade level, and socioeconomic status were observed. Hispanic students expressed significantly more academic worry and less confidence in the transition than their peers, while Black students reported less worry despite significantly more technological obstacles than their peers. While female students expressed high satisfaction with school responsiveness and support, they also indicated significantly more academic worry and requested more additional resources than male students. Grade 12 students reported significantly higher levels of academic and career worry than students in lower grade levels. Students eligible for free and reduced lunch expressed significantly more worry and obstacles with online learning than their peers. Non-honors students and low attendance students had 1.6 times higher odds of being worried about grades and graduation compared to honors students and students with regular attendance.

Conclusion: High school students experience differential effects and concerns of the pandemic on their education and career trajectories. COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the education system has the potential to increase the existing academic achievement gap in the United States. Proactive measures to recover from academic loss in the pandemic must be taken to ensure the healthy development of our youth.

Table of Contents

I.     Introduction....................................................................................1

A.   Research Questions………………………………………………………………..6

II.   Methods………………………………………………………………………………8

A.   Study Design…………………………………………………..…………………....8

B.   Study Population……………………………………………………….……….….8

C.   Data Sources………………………………………………………………...….…..8

D.   Data Measures…………………………………………………………..……….…9

E.   Analyses……………………………………………………………….………....…13

III.  Results…………………………………………………………………………...….16

IV.  Discussion…………………………………………………………………………..24

A.   Strengths and Limitations………………………………………………….…..28

B.   Future Directions……………………………………………………...……….…29

C.   Implications………………………………………………………………...……..30

V.   References…………………………………………………………………………..32

VI.  Tables………………………………………………………………………………..37

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An analysis of the effects of covid-19 on students at the university of mississippi: family, careers, mental health.

Hannah Newbold Follow

Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2021

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Integrated Marketing Communication

First Advisor

Second advisor.

Cynthia Joyce

Third Advisor

Marquita Smith

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

This study analyzes the effects of COVID-19 on students at the University of Mississippi. For students, COVID-19 changed the landscape of education, with classes and jobs going online. Students who graduated in May 2020 entered a poor job market and many ended up going to graduate school instead of finding a job. Access to medical and professional help was limited at the very beginning, with offices not taking patients or moving appointments to virtual only. This would require that each student needing help had to have access to quality internet service, which wasn’t always guaranteed, thus producing additional challenges.

These chapters, including a robust literature review of relevant sources, as well as a personal essay, consist further of interviews with students and mental health counselors conducted over the span of several months. These interviews were conducted and recorded over Zoom. The interviews were conducted with individuals who traveled in similar social circles as me. These previously existing relationships allowed the conversation to go deeper than before and allowed new levels of relationship. Emerging from these conversations were six overlapping themes: the importance of family, the need for health over career, the challenge of isolation, struggles with virtual education, assessing mental health, and facing the reality of a bright future not promised. Their revelations of deep academic challenges and fears about the future amid stories of devastating personal loss, produces a striking and complex picture of emerging strength.

Recommended Citation

Newbold, Hannah, "An Analysis Of The Effects Of COVID-19 On Students At The University of Mississippi: Family, Careers, Mental Health" (2021). Honors Theses . 1912. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1912

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Examining Students’ Flexibility in Online Learning: Exploring the Impact of E-Learning Adoption on Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic

• Pierre Clement Cyemezo Department of Information and Communication Technology
• Marie Noella Shema Academic Advising Faculty of Management, Kepler College, Kigali campus
• Jean Pierre Akingeneye Department of Information and Communication Technology,
• Jean Baptiste Ukwizabigira Department of Information and Communication Technology
• Wilson Musoni Department of Information and Communication Technology
• Leopord Uwamahoro Lecturer for IT, Rwanda Polytechnic, IPRC East

The importance of Learning Management Systems (LMS) for self-directed learning called for a rapid shift from learner -centered to fully online learning due to COVID-19. This paper examines the effects of Covid-19 Pandemic on education. The study explores the advantages and disadvantages of online education and pertaining challenges that need to be addressed for its successful implementation. During the study, an online survey was used to gather insights on   students’ experiences and difficulties they encountered during the pandemic. During this survey, a total of 582 participants; the majority of whom were undergraduate students (68%) and were women (68%). While mobile phones were revealed to be the most popular e-learning tool (55%), 43% chose laptops or desktops. Importantly, it is worthy to note that 56% of respondents reported not having access to the internet, likewise 54% spend four to five hours daily on online learning. According to the study, for over a half of the participants, the shift to online classes equally led to a shift in their routines. Additionally, of the participants 10% found it challenging to balance between study time and personal time. Distractions at home and participation in other activities were the main causes of non-participation. The mean scores of 3.19 and 2.98, respectively, in the study underscores the challenges of obtaining online classes and the absence of in-person interactions. We therefore strongly recommend that future studies concentrate on these areas as they have the potential to produce even more precise and significant results.

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© 2023 Published by African Journal of Education, Science and Technology (AJEST) , University of Eldoret, Kenya in collaboration with Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Nigeria , and Kyambogo University, Uganda and Mount Kenya University, Kenya

All Rights Reserved for all authors in the Journal ISSN: 2309- 9240

Teachable Moments: COVID-19's Impact on Education

TRANSCRIPT:

For South Carolina Public Radio, I'm Dr. Rénard Harris from the College of Charleston. This is Teachable Moments , a minute of education for students and parents.

While face masks, social distancing, and Zoom classes have largely vanished, the pandemic's negative impact on student learning may be with us for years to come.

Researchers at Harvard and Stanford found that students lost significant ground and reading, math, and history during the pandemic — losses that can't be regained by resuming normal instruction methods. The study also found that students from low income and predominately minority districts suffer worse than the appears from wealthier, whiter districts.

Researchers recommend additional instructional time tutoring, extending school years, summer school options, and doubling math classes to reverse the declines.

For the College of Charleston, I'm Dr. Rénard Harris.

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COVID-19 and its impact on education, social life and mental health of students: A survey

The outbreak of COVID-19 affected the lives of all sections of society as people were asked to self-quarantine in their homes to prevent the spread of the virus. The lockdown had serious implications on mental health, resulting in psychological problems including frustration, stress, and depression. In order to explore the impacts of this pandemic on the lives of students, we conducted a survey of a total of 1182 individuals of different age groups from various educational institutes in Delhi - National Capital Region (NCR), India. The article identified the following as the impact of COVID-19 on the students of different age groups: time spent on online classes and self-study, medium used for learning, sleeping habits, daily fitness routine, and the subsequent effects on weight, social life, and mental health. Moreover, our research found that in order to deal with stress and anxiety, participants adopted different coping mechanisms and also sought help from their near ones. Further, the research examined the student’s engagement on social media platforms among different age categories. This study suggests that public authorities should take all the necessary measures to enhance the learning experience by mitigating the negative impacts caused due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

1. Introduction

The emergence of Corona Virus disease (COVID-19) has led the world to an unprecedented public health crisis. Emergency protocols were implemented in India to control the spread of the virus which resulted in restrictions on all non-essential public movements ( Saha et al. 2020 ). With the closure of educational institutions, the need for a rapid transition from physical learning to the digital sphere of learning emerged ( Kapasia et al. 2020 ). Online learning has been observed as a possible alternative to conventional learning ( Adnan and Anwar 2020 ). However, according to a meta-analysis on e-learning ( Cook 2009 ), it is reported that online learning is better than nothing and similar to conventional learning. To improve the e-learning experience, the education institutions are required to comply with the guidelines and recommendations by government agencies, while keeping students encouraged to continue learning remotely in this tough environment ( Aucejo et al. 2020 ). Bao (2020 ) addresses five high-impact guidelines for the efficient conduct of online education.

This rapid evolution at such a large scale has influenced the students of all age groups ( Hasan and Bao 2020 ). It is expected that the continued spread of the disease, travel restrictions and the closure of educational institutions across the country would have a significant effect on the education, social life, and mental health of students ( Odriozola-gonzález et al. 2020 ). The students from the less privileged backgrounds have experienced larger negative impacts due to the Covid-19 outbreak ( Aucejo et al. 2020 ). Reduction in family income, limited access to digital resources, and the high cost of internet connectivity have disrupted the academic life of the students. Moreover, 1.5 billion students across the world are now deprived of basic education ( Lee 2020 ) leading to a serious psychological impact on their health. Moreover, changes in daily routine including lack of outdoor activity, disturbed sleeping patterns, social distancing have affected the mental well-being of the students. ( Cao et al. 2020 ) uses 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) as a diagnostic tool for the assessment of anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and social phobia. Further, ( Ye et al. 2020 ) analyses mediating roles of resilience, coping, and social support to deal with psychological symptoms.

In this paper, we investigated and analyzed the potential consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life of students. Our research shows that there is a wide gap between the government's policy aspirations and the implementation of these online education policies at the grassroots level. Moreover, our study attempts to assess the mental situation of students of different age groups using different parameters including sleeping habits, daily fitness routine, and social support. Further, we analyse different coping mechanisms used by students to deal with the current situation.

2. Objective and methods

A 19-set questionnaire was developed, which included a variety of multiple-choice questions, Likert scale and for a few questions, the respondents were allowed to enter free texts. The survey was administered using the Google Forms platform, which requires subjects to be logged in to an e-mail account to participate in the survey, it restricted multiple entries from an individual account. The distribution of the questionnaire was conducted through the outreach of social media platforms, e-mail, and standard messaging services. Clear instructions with the google form were provided to ensure the respondent must be a student.

2.1. Study design

A web-based survey was conducted to students through the medium of Google online platforms from July 13 to July 17, 2020. The online survey questionnaire contained four subgroups:

• (a) Participants were asked to describe their general demographics, such as age, the region of residence.
• (b) Information about the daily online learning routine following the transition from offline learning in educational institutions in India: average time spent for online study (hours) /day; medium for online study; average time spent for self-study (hours)/day.
• (c) Assessment of the experience of online learning to evaluate the levels of satisfaction among students.
• (d) Assessment of health due to the change in lifestyle: average time spent on sleep (hours)/day; change in weight; average time spent on fitness (hours)/day; the number of meals/days; also, we considered further questions about the medium of stress busters during the pandemic, cohesion with family members, etc.

The aim of this survey study is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education, health, and lifestyle of students from different age-groups.

2.2. Statistical analysis

In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with a sample size of 1182 students from different educational institutions. A summary of demographic details in the form of numbers and percentages is provided. Mean at 95% Confidence Interval limit was calculated for learning hours for online classes and self-study, duration of sleep, time spent on fitness and sleep. Kruskal Wallis test, a non-parametric test was used to assess the significant difference in the time spent on the aforementioned activities among different age distributions. Fisher’s exact test was performed to assess the differences between respondent’s health with the variables of interest. In order to analyse the association between age categories and different variables such as change in weight, health issues faced, stress busters, etc, the Pearson Chi Square test was used. JMP Version 15.2.1 from SAS was used for analysis. A statistically significant value of P < 0.05 was considered.

2.3. Ethical consideration

The following survey was done in a properly informed set up and consent from the individuals was taken for the participation. No individual was forced against their will and no identifying information was collected.

3.1. Participants characteristics

A total of 1182 subjects from different educational institutions including schools, colleges, and universities in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) participated in the online questionnaire. The demographic detail of the participants is shown in Table 1 . The mean age is 20.16 years (95% confidence interval (CI), 19.8–20.4) (range, 7–59). The age of the participants was normally distributed (‘7–17’ year old, 303; ‘18–22’ year old, 694; ‘23–59’ year old, 185). 728 (61.62%) of the respondents lived in Delhi-NCR and the rest were living outside of Delhi-NCR during the period of the pandemic.

Demographic data of the respondents to the online survey questionnaire.

3.2. Assessment of online learning

According to Table 2 , the Kruskal Wallis test was used to assess the difference in the time spent by different age categories for daily routine activities. The average time spent on online classes for students was 3.20 h/day (95% confidence interval (CI), 3.08–3.32). However, the average time spent on online classes was significantly higher for students with age group ‘7–17’ years (3.69 h/day), and lower for students with age groups, ‘18–22’ years (2.98 h/day) and ‘23–59’ years (2.66 h/day) (P < 0.0001*). Further, respondents were asked about the time they allot per day for self-study, however, there was no significant difference among different age group categories (P = 0.106). Overall, 2.91 h/day (95% CI, 2.78–3.03) was the average time spent on self-study. According to the assessment of satisfaction level among students (see Fig. 1 .a), 38.3% of students had negative response towards online classes (2.6% poor and 35.7% very poor), 33.4% considered it average while 28.4% (19.9% good and 8.5% excellent) gave a positive review. Surprisingly, the in-depth analysis showed the satisfaction levels varied significantly with different age groups. There were 51.6% (48.6% very poor and 3% poor) negative online class reviews from subjects in the ‘18–22’ age group, compared to 31.5% (29.1% very poor and 2.4% poor) negative reviews from subjects in the ‘7–17’ age group who spent more time on online classes.

Table showing how different variables (time spent on online class, self-study, fitness, sleep, and social media) changes with different age distributions.

Kruskal Wallis test was used to produce a P-value that analyzes significant difference between different age distributions. *Statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Visualizations demonstrate a) Likert analysis of Online classes for the sample and for different age categories b) Medium for the online classes b) Learning medium used by different age categories.

The respondents were further asked about the medium of their online learning (see Fig. 1 .b), 57.3% in the age group ‘7–17’ used smartphones while the majority of students from age group ‘18–22’ (56.4%) and age group ‘23–59’ (57.8%) used laptop/desktop for study. However, only a small portion of the total students (3.1%, n = 37) used tablet. With regard to the time spent in online classes, there was a statistically significant difference between the various mediums used (P = 0.0002). As shown in Table 3 , 4.29 h/day (95% CI, 3.63–4.96) was the average time spent on online classes using tablets, 3.43 h/day (95% CI, 3.25–3.61) when using laptop/desktop, and 3.06 h/day (95% CI, 2.90–3.23) when using smartphones.

Time spent on online classes using different learning medium.

3.3. Assessment of health in educational institutions

Among the respondents from different age groups (see Fig. 2 ), 13.6% (n = 160) faced health-related issues during the period of nationwide travel restrictions. Further respondents were asked about the change in body weight within this period, 37.1% reported an increase in weight, 17.7% reported a decrease in weight, and 45.3% reported no change in weight. When asked whether they are satisfied with their utilization of time, the majority of respondents (51.4%, n = 608) answered in ‘NO’, and the rest (n = 575) answered with ‘YES’. Also, 70.3% of the respondents stated that they were socially connected with their family members.

Visualizations demonstrate a) Pie Chart for Likert questions: whether the respondent faced health issues; whether the respondent utilized the time efficiently; whether the respondent is socially well connected. b) Stacked bar chart to analyze the change in weight during the period of lockdown.

According to Table 4 , fisher’s exact test indicated that the respondents who were not socially well connected and believed that they did not utilize their time in lockdown, had a significant impact on their state of health. Also, in Table 5 , the Pearson Chi Square test for Likert analysis on ‘time utilized’ (P < 0.0001*), ‘health issue faced’ (P < 0.0001*), and ‘socially well connected’ (P = 0.0002*) rejected the null hypothesis that there is no association between these variables with the different distribution of age groups. To maintain a state of health and well-being, it is necessary to perform a certain amount of exercise daily. The findings of Table 2 showed that the time spent on fitness was statistically different for different age groups (P = 0.039*, Kruskal Wallis test). And, the average time spent on sleep was 7.87 h/day (95% Confidence Interval, 7.77–7.96). The differences between the age groups in terms of duration of sleep were statistically significant.

Fisher’s exact test to analyse the effect of multiple factors on health.

*Statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Pearson Chi Square test for the association between different variables and age distribution.

Further, respondents were questioned about the measures adopted to cope with the rising stress levels during the pandemic. According to the Pearson Chi Square test in Table 4 , there was a significant difference in the measures used by the different age categories. Fig. 3 shows the detailed distribution of different stress reliever activities used among different age categories.

Visualization demonstrate the distribution of stress relieving activities among different age categories.

3.4. Social media

According to Fig. 3 , a significant number of individuals from different age categories used social media as a medium for stress reliever. Further in Fig. 4 . a, the findings provide the distribution of the sample for the use of different platforms. While the majority of respondents used social media, 1.44% did not have an account on any platform. Fig. 4 . b gives the detailed distribution of platforms for age-wise groups. YouTube (39%) was the preferred platform for the age group '7–17,' followed by Whatsapp (35%) and Instagram (17%). Most of the social networking sites in India restricts individuals below 13 years of age to have an account on their platforms. However, some individuals under 13 years of age used Instagram (n = 2), Whatsapp (n = 16), and Snapchat (n = 1). For the age group ‘18-22’, Instagram (39%) was the most preferred networking site, and the respondents in the age-group ‘23-59’ preferred WhatsApp (38%).

Visualization demonstrate the distribution of preferred social media platform for a) the sample and b) among different age categories.

As shown in Table 2 , the average time spent on social media for the age group ‘7-17’ was 1.68 h/day (95% Confidence Interval, 1.52–1.85), 2.64 h/day (95% Confidence Interval, 2.50–2.78) for the age group ‘18-22’, and for the age group ‘23-59’, it was 2.37 h/day (95% Confidence Interval, 2.14–2.61). The difference between the groups was statistically different (P < 0.0001*).

4. Discussion

The outbreak of Covid-19 has upended the lives of all parts of the society. One of the most immediate changes introduced was the closure of educational institutions to slow the transmission of the virus. In order to prevent further interruption of studies, new teaching methods for the online delivery of education were introduced ( Johnson et al., 2020 , Di Pietro et al., 2020 ). However, these measures can have long-term consequences on the lives of students ( Cohen et al. 2020 ). Therefore, there is a strong need to record and study the effects of the changes being made. In this study, our aim is to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education, health, social life of the students, and demonstrate results about its subsequent effect on their daily routine amid travel restrictions. The findings indicate that the time spent by students on online classes did not comply with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) ( Department of School Education & Literacy Ministry of Human Resource Development 2020 ). Limited class interaction and inefficient time table significantly affected the satisfaction levels among students. The peer-to-peer impact in the school environment motivates individuals to work hard and learn social skills, which may not be possible in an online setting. Moreover, the biggest challenge for online learning is the requirement of efficient digital infrastructure and digital skillset for both students and teachers.

Further, this study analyses the impact of different factors to measure stress levels among students. Alarmingly, 51.4% of respondents reported that they did not utilize their time during the period of lockdown. Furthermore, sleeping habits, daily fitness routines, and social interaction significantly affected their health conditions. The government agencies imposed measures such as social distancing and restrictions on travel but they did not take into account the health implications. Although, these measures are necessary to regulate safe conditions, there is no strategy to safeguard the psychological impact due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our research also explores the different coping mechanisms used by students of different age groups. Moreover, we analyzed various digital social media tools used by students as a self-management strategy for mental health. Our statistical analysis addresses key concerns related to online education and health due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

5. Opinions and recommendations

Once the COVID-19 pandemic ends and educational institutions re-open, the concerned authorities should continue to invest in online education to enhance learning experience. They should carefully analyze the issues experienced during sudden transition to online learning and prepare for any future situations. Proper training of educators for the digital skills and improved student-teacher interaction must be conducted. For disadvantaged students, availability of digital infrastructure with proper internet availability and access to gadgets must be ensured to avoid any disruption to their study.

Due to the situation in Covid-19, many students are likely to suffer from stress, anxiety, and depression, so it is necessary to provide emotional support to students. Future work in this direction could be to analyze the association of different stress busters on the mental health of the students. Moreover, guidelines should be created to anticipate the needs of the vulnerable student population. Improved healthcare management would ensure the delivery of mental health support.

6. Limitations

There are some limitations to our study that should be noted. The first limitation is the sampling technique used. It relies on digital infrastructure and voluntary participation that increases selection bias. The imposed travel restrictions limited the outreach to students who do not have access to online learning. Second, the study is obtained from one specific area, given the lockdown orders and the online medium of classes, we expect these results to be fairly generalizable for schools and universities nationwide. Another limitation of this study is the cross-sectional design of the survey, there was no follow-up period for the participants.

7. Conclusion

In this study, our findings indicated that the Covid-19 outbreak has made a significant impact on the mental health, education, and daily routine of students. The Covid-19 related interruptions highlight key challenges and provide an opportunity to further evaluate alternate measures in the education sector. The new policies and guidelines in this direction would help mitigate some of the negative effects and prepare educators and students for the future health crisis.

Declaration of Competing Interest

There is no conflict of interest.

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Double-lung transplant by Northwestern team saves life of Chicagoan hit by COVID-19, cancer

In january, doctors successfully performed lung surgery on arthur “art” gillespie. doctors said it was the first double-lung transplant at northwestern on a set of lungs that had been independently damaged by covid-19 and cancer..

Arthur Gillespie underwent a double-lung transplant at Northwestern Medicine when one lung was damaged by COVID-19 and another by cancer.

Northwestern Medicine

Arthur “Art” Gillespie thought he had run out of options when doctors told him that both of his lungs were badly damaged — one by COVID-19 and the other by cancer.

After beating COVID-19 and undergoing chemotherapy, the fitness buff could barely speak a full sentence without losing his breath last September. Doing chores and getting dressed became strenuous. The pressure in the 56-year-old’s lungs was also likely contributing to eventual heart failure.

“I felt like I was plateauing with my [recovery] efforts. Then I felt a decline. That’s when I sought a second opinion,” said Gillespie, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, most recently as a captain with the University of Chicago Police Department.

Arthur “Art” Gillespie was a captain with the University of Chicago Police Department.

The longtime Beverly resident was connected with doctors at Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, who in January successfully performed lung surgery. Doctors said it was the first-ever double-lung transplant at Northwestern on a set of lungs that had been independently damaged by COVID-19 and cancer.

The surgery was performed by Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute’s Double Lung Replacement and Multidisciplinary Care Program. The DREAM program has touted a number of successful double-lung surgeries in recent years. But Gillespie’s case is also a sign of COVID-19’s less-apparent long-term effects on people who are diagnosed with another illness.

• Trumpeter marvels at making music again after double lung transplant: ‘It was a pretty special moment’

Although lung transplants are rarely needed for damage from COVID-19, doctors are starting to see patients with lung fibrosis, or hardening of the tissue, due to moderate or serious cases of coronavirus, according to Rade Tomic, medical director of the lung transplant program.

The scarring of lung tissue is worse in patients who are recovering from COVID-19 and get another respiratory infection such as RSV or influenza “because it compounds the original damage that COVID caused,” he said.

Before, left, and after imaging of Arthur Gillespie’s lungs.

“Four years after the start of the pandemic, COVID still has an impact on patients, but in a different way,” Tomic said in a news release.

Gillespie said his diagnosis and recovery have been an “emotional roller coaster.”

In the early days of the pandemic, COVID-19 led to the deaths of his father, uncle and a cousin.

He caught the virus himself when he and his dad visited the uncle at a nursing facility in February 2020. He was hospitalized for 12 days. During that time, doctors examining X-rays of his lungs identified Stage 1 lung cancer.

He underwent chemotherapy and had two-thirds of his right lung removed.

For the next three years, he did physical therapy and worked out at his home gym, but his body continued getting weaker. He needed supplemental oxygen daily and was hospitalized while waiting on a list for the transplant that he got on Jan. 6.

Four months after the lung transplant, he’s still recovering — though he’s unsure if he’ll be able to return to working in law enforcement.

“I can breathe much more fully,” he said. “That was the biggest thing for me. ... From having gone from that to news of the cancer diagnosis, to a point where it was treatable, I recognize that that was a blessing.”

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COVID-19 Vaccine Equity for Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups

CDC is committed to COVID-19 vaccine equity, which is when everyone has fair and just access to COVID-19 vaccination. There are many social, geographic, political, economic, and environmental factors that create challenges to vaccination access and acceptance, and that often affect racial and ethnic minority groups. Some of these factors include:

• Education, income, and wealth gaps
• Job access and working conditions
• Racism and other forms of discrimination
• Gaps in healthcare access
• Transportation and neighborhood conditions
• Lack of trust as a result of past medical racism and experimentation

Because of these and other challenges, some Black or African American people and Hispanic or Latino people are less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 than people in other racial and ethnic minority groups and non-Hispanic White people. [1-3] You can view the most current race and ethnicity data on COVID-19 vaccination . In addition to being less likely to get a vaccine, Black or African American people and Hispanic or Latino people are more likely to get seriously ill and die from COVID-19 due to the factors listed above. [4-6] CDC uses the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to assess the potential negative effects on communities caused by external stresses on human health. You can view the most current health equity data on COVID-19.

Other racial and ethnic minority groups, including American Indian or Alaska Native people, have also been more severely affected by COVID-19 than non-Hispanic White people, due to the challenges listed above. However, vaccination rates among American Indian or Alaska Native people were among the highest earlier in the pandemic among racial and ethnic minority groups, [7]  in part due to vaccination efforts from CDC and partners.  Regardless, the gains early on can be lost if the follow up requirements are not sustained.  Efforts to maintain sufficient up-to-date vaccination must be responsive to community needs. You can find more information about CDC COVID-19 activities in Tribal communities, including vaccination efforts, and communication resources.

CDC Is Committed to Vaccine Equity for Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups

CDC is paving the way in vaccine equity efforts with national, state, tribal, territorial, local, and community partners to ensure that Black or African American people and Hispanic or Latino people have fair and just access to COVID-19 vaccination. To support vaccine equity, CDC continues to communicate with and listen to all communities affected by COVID-19. CDC is working to build trust, increase collaboration, and create tools and resources to respond to the concerns and feedback from all communities affected by COVID-19, especially those disproportionately impacted. These activities, along with messages supported by science, can help to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and make it easier to get vaccinated.

Communication and Educational Resources

You can use the resources below to engage with communities that have been affected by COVID-19. Many of the resources available can be tailored for racial and ethnic minority communities to:

• Help build vaccine confidence
• Share clear and accurate information to educate about COVID-19
• Raise awareness about the benefits of vaccination and address common questions and concerns
• Adapt key messages to the language, tone, and format that will resonate with communities
• Understand community needs regarding COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19 Vaccines for Children and Teens : Resources for parents and caregivers to help find COVID-19 vaccines for children and information about COVID-19 vaccination for children 5 years and older.

COVID-19 Vaccination for Children 5-11 Years Old : Information for providers, jurisdictions, and partners planning vaccination of children, clinical research, and information for children with developmental disabilities.

A Guide for Community Partners—Increasing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities : A resource for community organizations to engage in or support COVID-19 vaccination confidence and access in racial and ethnic minority communities. Explore strategies, interventions, and ready-made messages and materials. This document is also available in Spanish .

COVID-19 Vaccination Toolkit for Health Departments and Other Public Health Partners and Community-Based Organizations Vaccine Toolkit: Include key messages and community engagement strategies that build trust and educate communities about COVID-19 vaccines.

Communication Toolkit for Migrants, Refugees, and Other Limited- English-Proficient Populations : Prevention and vaccination messaging for public health professionals, health care providers, and community organizations to reach communities that speak languages other than English.

Rapid Community Assessment Guide : Resources for state and local health departments to identify communities at risk for low COVID-19 vaccine uptake and understand community needs regarding COVID-19 vaccination.

COVID-19 Vaccination for Essential Workers: Racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately represented among essential work and industries . This page includes resources for employees and employers to help plan for and encourage COVID-19 vaccination to protect the workplace.

CDC has printable resources covering a wide range of topics related to COVID-19 vaccines that can be filtered by audience.

• Facts About COVID-19 Vaccines : General information about COVID-19 vaccines. Available in 27 languages.
• What to Expect after Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine : Information on what to expect after getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Available in 10 languages.
• A Safe and Effective COVID-19 Vaccine is Now Available : Comic-book style graphic fotonovela that tells the story of a daycare worker’s decision to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.

CDC Partnerships and Funding

Health and vaccine equity are essential parts of CDC’s mission. CDC works with national, state, tribal, territorial, local, and community partners to promote COVID-19 vaccination among Black or African American people and Hispanic or Latino people. To support these partnerships, CDC has provided funding for organizations that reach racial and ethnic minority groups. This funding includes:

• $3 billion awarded to 64 jurisdictions to support local health departments and community-based organizations in launching new programs and initiatives to increase vaccine access, acceptance, and uptake in communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19
• $2.25 billion awarded to health departments across the United States and its territories to work in collaboration with community partners to support efforts to address COVID-19 health disparities
• $348 million to organizations for community health worker (CHW) services to support COVID-19 prevention and control, and $32 million to organizations for CHW services to support training, technical assistance, and evaluation, all funded through the CDC’s Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities initiative .

Additional CDC efforts toward vaccine equity for racial and ethnic minority groups include funding for:

• 8 national organizations through CDC’s Partnering with National Organizations to Increase Vaccination Coverage Across Different Racial and Ethnic Adult Populations Currently Experiencing Disparities , including: Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, National Minority Quality Forum, National Urban League, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, National Council of Negro Women, UnidosUS, Conference of National Black Churches
• 4 medical organizations serving racial and ethnic minority groups through CDC’s Partnering with Professional and Medical Associations to Increase Vaccination Coverage Across Different Racial and Ethnic Adult Populations Experiencing Disparities , including: National Medical Association, National Hispanic Medical Association, Association of American Indian Physicians, National Council of Urban Indian Health
• 3 national foundations through CDC’s Partnering with National Organizations to Support Community-Based Organizations to Increase Vaccination Coverage Across Different Racial and Ethnic Adult Populations Currently Experiencing Disparities , including: CDC Foundation, Community Catalyst, Urban Institute
• 34 national, state, tribal, and community organizations through CDC’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health – REACH , including: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Allegheny County, PA, American Heart Association, California Department of Public Health, Cicatelli Associates, Inc., City of Hartford, CT, City of Miami Gardens, FL, City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, TX, City of Worcester, MA, County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency, CA, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Dekalb County Board of Health, GA, Eastern Michigan University, Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Health Partners Initiative DBA Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln, NE, Houston County Board of Health, TX, Leadership Council for Healthy Communities, Lowell Community Health Center, Mississippi Public Health Institute, Montgomery Area Community Wellness Coalition, AL, Multnomah County Health Department, National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, Partners in Health, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Pima County Health Department, AZ, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Public Health Advocates, Rosedale Assistance & Opportunities, Seattle-King County Public Health Department, WA, Southern Nevada Health District, The Institute for Family Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, YMCA of Coastal Georgia

Through these and other partnerships, CDC is working to remove barriers to COVID-19 vaccination access and promote vaccine equity. In line with this effort, CDC works with the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program to conduct community-based activities and use data to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are accessible in all communities.

Because of the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, the nation is closer than ever to ending the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Yet challenges remain in ensuring all people have fair and just access to COVID-19 vaccination. CDC is committed to ongoing work to promote vaccine equity.

Resources on COVID-19 and Health Equity

Cdc health equity resources.

• COVID Data Tracker’s Health Equity Landing Page
• COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
• Health Equity in Action
• Health Equity: Promoting Fair Access to Health

Other Resources

• Emory University’s COVID-19 Health Equity Interactive Dashboard
• Morehouse School of Medicine, Satcher Health Leadership Institute’s Health Equity Tracker
• National Academy of Medicine’s Resources on Health Equity in the Context of COVID-19 & Disproportionate Outcomes for Marginalized Groups
• Khubchandani, J., & Macias, Y. (2021). COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy in Hispanics and African-Americans: A Review and Recommendations for Practice. Brain, behavior, & immunity-health, 100277.
• Baack, B. N., Abad, N., Yankey, D., Kahn, K. E., Razzaghi, H., Brookmeyer, K, et al. (2021). MMWR—COVID-19 vaccination coverage and intent among adults aged 18–39 years—United States, March–May 2021.
• Kricorian, K., & Turner, K. (2021). Covid-19 vaccine reluctance in older Black and Hispanic adults: Cultural sensitivity and institutional trust. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, S214-S214.
• Romano, S. D. (2021). Trends in racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 hospitalizations, by region—United States, March–December 2020. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 70.
• Mackey, K., Ayers, C. K., Kondo, K. K., Saha, S., Advani, S. M., Young, S. et al. (2021). Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19–related infections, hospitalizations, and deaths: a systematic review. Annals of internal medicine, 174(3), 362-373.
• Mude, W., Oguoma, V. M., Nyanhanda, T., Mwanri, L., & Njue, C. (2021). Racial disparities in COVID-19 pandemic cases, hospitalizations, and deaths: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Global Health, 11.
• CDC COVID Data Tracker Vaccination Demographics Trends

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• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
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COVID-19’s Impact on Eating Disorders Research Paper

Introduction, ed rate increase, lack of healthcare access, family support, lifestyle disruptions, lack of peer interactions, recommendations.

The prevalence of eating disorders worldwide, as well as the negative physical and emotional outcomes correlating with conditions such as anorexia and bulimia, exemplifies a major challenge that affects numerous individuals. Eating disorders (EDs) can also be exacerbated as a result of the external environment. Currently, such disruptions are often correlating with parental conflicts, peer pressure, and school problems. Nonetheless, the recent experience with COVID-19 and subsequent changes have highlighted how state and country-level regulations, as well as health risks, can affect people with eating disorders. It is essential to consider the restrictions that have impacted individuals, such as isolation measures, the closing of schools and businesses, and the lack of opportunities for interactions. It has negatively impacted a variety of individuals but had a particularly negative effect on people with the aforementioned conditions. In this paper, the correlation between COVID-19 and EDs will be assessed through the exemplification of increases in cases, lack of healthcare access, lifestyle disruptions, and a lack of peer interactions.

As mentioned previously, external factors do, indeed, correlate with risk maximization or reduction in the rate of eating disorders. A similar effect was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Namely, researchers mention an increase of more than 15% in ED cases (Zipfel et al., 2022). The challenge was primarily observed in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa. Several potential triggers can be highlighted concerning the phenomenon. On the one hand, the government restrictions, which have led to a remote education process, may have maximized the focus on nutrition. Thus, without potential distractions, people who were already suffering from Eds and were in remission or have had mind symptoms without fully experiencing the conditions were more triggered by the change in their external environment. The fact that individuals with anorexia nervosa were most effective highlights the severity of the pattern in ED rate increase during COVID-19. Namely, anorexia is the condition most frequently referred to as a disorder linked to a high mortality rate, namely due to health problems, which are especially common among anorexia patients who purge (Mehler et al., 2022). As a result, it can be highlighted that COVID-19 negatively affected individuals with eating disorders and has facilitated an increase in negative health outcomes, especially when it comes to patients with anorexia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions in many areas of life. Namely, schools have switched to a remote system, and multiple non-essential businesses have closed. Nonetheless, it is essential to acknowledge the burden the lockdown has had on the healthcare sector as a whole. The medical establishment was under major pressure to combat the negative consequences of the pandemic, which means that conditions other than COVID-19 have become less of a concern. However, the phenomenon has adversely impacted individuals with eating disorders who were unable to access the services and treatment they required to manage their conditions. Researchers highlight that while ED patients were more likely to access support from family members and partners, relationships with their nutritionists, therapists, and other medical personnel directly associated with their recovery were minimized (Haghshomar et al., 2022). This may correlate with the focus on telemedicine and the negative correlations that followed. As eating disorders are often perceived as shameful by those who have them, sharing experiences and symptoms and seeking advice via phone communication were perceived as less effective and ethical. As a result, people were less likely to address their disorders and more likely to suffer from the negative consequences of being isolated and not having the resources to combat their symptoms.

While correlating with negative aspects, stay-at-home orders also had a positive influence in certain regards. Namely, as mentioned previously, individuals with ED were more likely to receive support from their family members and partners, especially because they were enclosed in the same area for a long time (Haghshomar et al., 2022). For example, parents who would otherwise be at work had the opportunity to monitor their children’s food intake and ensure they were not showing signs of binging or restricting. A similar effect has happened concerning monitoring the progress of recovery. Individuals with ED were able to receive assistance from loved ones through moral support and encouragement to continue their healthy journey and avoid potential relapses.

Lifestyle disruptions occurred for most people during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. Namely, as businesses and schools closed, people were operating remotely both in terms of their jobs and education. This majorly affected individuals with eating disorders as their lifestyles changed drastically without time to adapt to the alterations. For example, researchers mention that limited physical activities worsened self-perception (Miniati et al., 2021). Namely, the fact that gyms were closed resulted in disturbances in how people viewed themselves, which was especially critical for people with EDs. Since body dysmorphia is often a condition that aligns with eating disorders, the lack of opportunities to exercise adversely affects it. The same argument can be associated with the closing of restaurants and limited food access. Individuals with ED were not able to have the same lifestyle in regards to their preferred places where they eat, which is why worsening of the disorders may have occurred. Lifestyle disruptions, despite the direct effects such as limited food options and a lack of physical exercise opportunities, indirectly impacted people with eating disorders (Gao et al., 2022). Psychological well-being is minimized when an individual is put under stressful circumstances outside of one’s comfort zone

Based on the aforementioned phenomena, such as the closing of schools and businesses, social interactions were minimized. This affected individuals with eating disorders in two ways. On the one hand, adolescents with EDs specifically lost the factor of peer-to-peer comparison that may have triggered their eating disorder (Feinmann, 2021). These factors may also be associated with a positive implication as the lack of need for comparison could positively affect self-perception. However, on the other hand, people were more likely to emerge in social media due to the lack of in-person communication. As a result, unrealistic portrayals could generate more adverse outcomes for individuals with a distorted self-perception. Lack of peer interaction also had contrasting outcomes regarding its impact. On the one hand, individuals were more likely to avoid potential negative comments concerning their appearance, which often triggers EDs. However, another effect is the lack of additional support in case friends, classmates, and peers were supporting with one’s recovery.

The current literature, as highlighted previously, recognizes that the positive aspects of the COVID-19 lockdown impact on individuals with ED include maximization of family support and a lack of peer-to-peer comparison. On the other hand, lifestyle disruptions, lack of regular access to food, social media influence, and inability to access healthcare services have been highlighted as negative. Thus, the aspects are to be considered concerning potential recommendations. As mentioned previously, people with eating disorders were unable to access the healthcare resources they used to (Haghshomar et al., 2022). Thus, addressing the issue through the establishment of more accessible online platforms for patients to communicate with physicians concerning their eating disorders can address the barrier. Another aspect was the increased time people spent on social media, which can be addressed through monitoring. This intervention can be applied to parents and their approach to how minors are influenced by unrealistic body standards that trigger body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Such recommendations can be applied in case other health crises occur and lead to government restrictions.

COVID-19 and the stay-at-home order had a major impact on most people, but it is especially important to recognize its effects on individuals with eating disorders. Current literature highlights the major barriers correlating with disruptions in lifestyles, limited access to food, lack of peer support, limited health service provision, and increased use of social media. On the other hand, a lack of negative peer-to-peer comparisons as well as family support was mentioned as a positive aspect. For the care for ED patients to be maximized, it is vital to address the aforementioned challenges through monitoring of social media use as well as the establishment of more effective telemedicine measures. As a result, people who have eating disorders would be more likely to reach and maintain recovery from their conditions.

Feinmann, J. (2021). Eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic . BMJ . Web.

Gao, Y., Bagheri, N., & Furuya-Kanamori, L. (2022). Has the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown worsened eating disorder symptoms among patients with eating disorders? A systematic review . Journal of Public Health , 30 (11), 2743–2752. Web.

Haghshomar, M., Shobeiri, P., Brand, S., Rossell, S. L., Akhavan Malayeri, A., & Rezaei, N. (2022). Changes of symptoms of eating disorders (ed) and their related psychological health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis . Journal of Eating Disorders , 10 (1). Web.

Mehler, P. S., Watters, A., Joiner, T., & Krantz, M. J. (2022). What accounts for the high mortality of anorexia nervosa? International Journal of Eating Disorders , 55 (5), 633–636. Web.

Miniati, M., Marzetti, F., Palagini, L., Marazziti, D., Orrù, G., Conversano, C., & Gemignani, A. (2021). Eating disorders spectrum during the COVID pandemic: A systematic review . Frontiers in Psychology , 12 . Web.

Zipfel, S., Schmidt, U., & Giel, K. E. (2022). The hidden burden of eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic . The Lancet Psychiatry , 9 (1), 9–11. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2024, May 18). COVID-19's Impact on Eating Disorders. https://ivypanda.com/essays/covid-19s-impact-on-eating-disorders/

"COVID-19's Impact on Eating Disorders." IvyPanda , 18 May 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/covid-19s-impact-on-eating-disorders/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'COVID-19's Impact on Eating Disorders'. 18 May.

IvyPanda . 2024. "COVID-19's Impact on Eating Disorders." May 18, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/covid-19s-impact-on-eating-disorders/.

1. IvyPanda . "COVID-19's Impact on Eating Disorders." May 18, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/covid-19s-impact-on-eating-disorders/.

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IvyPanda . "COVID-19's Impact on Eating Disorders." May 18, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/covid-19s-impact-on-eating-disorders/.

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