Tag: pandemic

COVID-19 impacts during 2020

Grandparents reported feeling disconnected and isolated from their children and grandchildren during the COVID restrictions imposed during 2020.

In two surveys conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies during each half of 2020, three out of 10 grandparents said that prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, they provided childcare to their grandchildren at least weekly. Of those grandparents, 14% of respondents with grandchildren aged under 13 years provided child care daily or several times a week, another 16% provided child care about once a week and around half provided care at least once per month.

Grandparent care and care for grandparents were most impacted during the pandemic, with respondents reporting that for many families, grandparents did not provide the usual care to their grandchildren for some months during the pandemic. Care for grandchildren ceased because of restrictions imposed on visiting family members or because parents increased their work from home.

Many grandparents reported feeling disconnected from their family and missing out on family traditions during the lockdown period. While some grandparents were able to access technological solutions to connect with family, others found the technology frustrating.

There were 7,306 respondents in the first survey of whom 6,435 completed all survey questions. In the second survey, 4,866 participants responded, of which 3,627 completed all survey questions. Over 80% were female respondents, tertiary-educated, ranging in age from over 18 years to 60+ years who lived either in a capital city, a major regional city or regional area.

Impacts on caring for others

In addition to generalised fears as to how the virus might affect the physical and mental health of family members, the pandemic forced changes to the availability of in-home support services. Caring hours for family members increased significantly over the year for 70% of respondents, nearly half of the respondents saying they spent over 30 hours per week in relation to child care and home schooling, while about 20% of respondents reported spending over 60 hours per week on caring activities which included caring for a parent or a partner.

Respondents also referred to giving assistance to non-household members which could include friends or work colleagues. This could include giving emotional assistance, or providing help with shopping, transport, house or garden maintenance and sometimes financial help.

Community volunteering was also impacted by the pandemic during 2020 in that in many volunteer-reliant charities, older volunteers were restricted in the types of volunteer work they could do and, at the same time, demand for services from charities increased due to the impact of COVID on employment and income.

Community volunteers were more likely to be older people. Survey results showed that over a quarter (27%) of respondents or their partners had engaged in some form of voluntary work in the past year, including half of those aged 70-79, 36% of those living alone, and 40% of those living in remote areas.

Of those who volunteered at some time during 2020, almost two in three (62%) continued to volunteer throughout the year, 20% volunteered before COVID but had yet to return to volunteering, 6% started volunteering after COVID, 4% stopped volunteering during COVID but have returned to volunteering, and 4% volunteered only during COVID. (The remaining 5% is other combinations.)

Report no. 1: Connection to family, friends and community, Families in Australia Survey, May 2021, https://aifs.gov.au/publications/connection-family-friends-community

New Year resolutions for a lucky country

It’s the start of a new year and it’s the perfect time to make your own resolutions for the year. Lose weight, get more exercise, drink less alcohol – we all know about those. We also know that if we don’t incorporate those resolutions into our daily routine from day one, we are not likely to succeed.

Taking a national perspective – it’s been a year where managing the pandemic has been a world-wide priority rather than taking any positive policy steps. Australia has not experienced the same kind of turmoil as the US or the UK but as we come out of the pandemic crisis, what should be the policy focus for our country? What do you think should be included in the Australian government’s New Year resolutions? To be on their To Do list from day one.

Here are a few suggestions:
• Distribute the Covid-19 vaccine to anyone at risk.
• Raise the JobSeeker allowance by $100 per week.
• Recognise our First Nations people in the Constitution.
• Introduce carbon-pricing for all industries to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040.
• Implement a nation-wide bushfire emergency plan.
• Close Nauru and bring all refugees to Australia.
• Buy all the empty apartment blocks around Sydney and use them to provide affordable housing.
• Initiate key recommendations from Aged Care Commission in all aged care homes.
• Develop a plan for all coal industry workers to transition to renewable energy industries.
• Reduce the registration costs for all electric cars.

Sexual assaults increase during pandemic lockdown

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has released its statistics for the second quarter ending June 2020 which showed that recorded incidents of break ins, car theft and retail theft were significantly interrupted by the pandemic response.

The only major exception to the reduction in offences is reported sexual assaults which rose 9.4% year-on-year to June 2020, similar to the upward trend reported in the previous quarterly report.

Sexual assault increased in two of the 15 Sydney Statistical Areas:

Blacktown (up 24.4%, or 71 additional incidents)
Sutherland (up 59.2%, or 45 additional incidents)

Two Sydney regions had a significant increase in recorded rates of domestic assault in the past two years:
Baulkham Hills & Hawkesbury (up 32.7%, or 123 additional incidents),
Parramatta (up 9.9% or 175 additional incidents)

Regional NSW saw significant upward trends in recorded rates of sexual assault in three of the 13 statistical areas:
Hunter Valley excluding Newcastle (up 19.7% or 59 additional incidents),
Illawarra (up 33.7% or 66 additional incidents), and:
Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven (up 63.9% or 62 additional incidents).

Domestic violence related assault increased in the Murray (up 25.1% or 127 additional incidents)

Commenting on the findings, Executive Director of BOCSAR, Jackie Fitzgerald, said the continuing increase in reported sexual assaults was a worrying trend. “It appears that at least some of the increase in sexual assault is related to an increase in secondary and mandatory reporting of child sexual assault. We will continue to closely monitor trends in this offence.”

BOSCAR media release, 2/09/20: https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_media_releases/2020/mr-NSW-Recorded-Crime-Statistics-Quarterly-Update-June-2020-aspx.aspx

Life during Covid-19 – early findings

After conducting a survey of over 7,000 respondents, the Australian Institute of Family Studies has released its early findings as to how people felt their lives had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

Given that about 80% of the respondents were female with a higher educational level than the general population, it may not be completely representative but some significant trends do emerge.

Chief findings were:
 Women continued to do most of the housework as they did before the pandemic.
 The mother continued to do most of the childcare/schooling as they did before the pandemic.
 Almost half (43%) of respondents reported they or their partner had lost employment, reduced hours or wages. However 65% reported no real
change to their personal income.
 Grandparents were not able to support the families or provide childcare as before.
 Parent-only care rose from 30% before COVID-19 to 64% of families during the restrictions.
 The proportion of people always working from home rose from 7% to 60% during the restrictions.
 Young adults were disproportionately impacted by the economic downturn, being almost four times (15% vs 4%) more likely to ask for help from
government or NGOs.

Families in Australia Survey: Life during COVID-19, Report no. 1: Early findings, https://aifs.gov.au/publications/families-australia-survey-life-during-covid-19

Telehealth use increases during pandemic

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a rapid take up of telehealth. Telehealth can according be described as the delivery of any health service, remotely, usually over the phone or via video call. A service could include an online counselling session, a phone call with a general practitioner, or a video chat with a physiotherapist or allied health professional.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, one in six adults aged 18 years and over (17%) used a telehealth service during early-April to early-May 2020, when the pandemic restrictions on social distancing were at their strictest.

Research by the Global Centre for Modern Ageing found that older Australians liked telehealth for its convenience, reduced travel and ability to be conducted at home. Improvements they suggested include making telehealth more available, improving tech, and providing more information around the end-to-end process, including scripts, follow-ups and referrals.

Loneliness was the most widely reported source of personal stress for Australians during April, according to the third ABS Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey.

“Around one in five people (19 per cent) also reported that they were experiencing difficulties maintaining a healthy lifestyle, which was more of a problem for those aged 18 to 64 years (22 per cent) than those aged 65 years and over (9 per cent),” added Ms Marquardt, ABS Program Manager for Household Surveys.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, telehealth was most commonly used to make it easier for people in remote communities to access expert healthcare. However since the coronavirus pandemic, government policy has encouraged telehealth availability with the added benefit that the service can be bulk-billed.

Global Centre for Modern Ageing research, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ae17ed32971146319f879ca/t/5eeebc167250ac3a2ce07f1d/1592704027892/Telehealth+Here+to+Stay+GCMA+research+report.pdf