The Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Functional Activities Among Canadian Education Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: This cross-sectional study examined the self-perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 2,378 education workers in Ontario, Canada, during the second wave.

Methods: We examined six domains of functioning as per the short version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule-2.0. Participants selected if their functioning had improved, remained unchanged or worsened during the pandemic for each item.

Results: Educational workers described a general worsening of functional activities since the beginning of the pandemic. Moderate-to-extreme challenges were reported for all six functional domains. These challenges appeared to aggravate functional challenges for workers with disability, as indicated by pre-existing work accommodations. Older participants reported worse mobility than younger participants; however, they appeared to have better coping skills in learning new tasks and maintaining friendships. Women were more likely to report difficulties in maintaining household responsibilities.

Conclusions: We consider the role of mental health challenges and pre-existing inequality as predictors of pandemic-related difficulties. Recommendations include more longitudinal research in this population and policymakers to incorporate a health promotion lens to support their education workers more proactively.

Keywords: COVID-19; cross-sectional; education workers; functional activities; perceived impact.