Effect of COVID-19 on Working Women's Physical and Mental Health: A Descriptive Study of Pre and Post Pandemic Era

Abstract

Background and Aim: In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the coronavirus outbreak as a
pandemic and a public health emergency of global significance. Recent studies have revealed that these restrictions
and women’s anxiety of the virus itself may have had an adverse effect on their mental health. Children and
family members are spending more time at home; thus, society needs to be conscious of how this is affecting
working women’s emotional and physical health especially in the absence of any assisting maid. Thus, the purpose
of this study was to evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown affected working women’s physical and
mental health.
Materials and Method: To examine the effects of COVID-19 on the physical and emotional health of working women,
a cross-sectional survey was conducted. Data is collected using an online survey platform. To investigate the impact
of lockdown on the women’s mental and physical health, a semi-structured questionnaire comprising a number
of open- and closed-ended questions was prepared. Additionally, any mental health disorders and emotional
difficulties that developed during lockdown or became worse were enlisted. Another goal was to gauge how much
family members understood and were sympathetic to the physical and mental strain the working women were
under.
Results: The study involved 200 women from different states of India. The hours spent in the kitchen and other
associated activities increased from 1.5 hours to 5.5 hours when the time between before and during the lockdown
was compared. The amount of time spent engaging in physical activity, such as yoga and morning and evening
walks, significantly decreased during the lockdown are coming to normal after the lockdown. 68 per cent of those
surveyed said that women’s behaviour had changed. About 58 per cent of the women suffered physical changes
such fatigue, headaches, lower back discomfort, and other issues with women’s weight gain.
Conclusion: Additional research is required to better understand the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
on women’s mental health, particularly in regard to the identification of additional variables that may be connected
to the pandemic’s potentially multiplicative effects on women.