Perceived impact of lockdown on daily life in children with physical disabilities and their families during the COVID‐19 pandemic

摘要

Abstract Background The first lockdown during COVID‐19 pandemic in France led to an abrupt change in children's daily lives. For children with physical disabilities and their families, activities were limited, access to healthcare and therapy was disrupted, and family organization was altered. The objective was to report the impact of the lockdown on daily life activities and well‐being of children with physical disabilities as perceived by caregivers. Methods Two online national surveys were addressed to the parents of children with physical disabilities (ECHO survey: 6 April to 11 May 2020) and without disabilities (E‐COPAIN survey: 24 April to 11 May 2020), confined at home during the lockdown. A lockdown impact score was calculated from difficulties related to children's well‐being (morale, behaviour and social interaction) and daily life activities (schooling and physical activity) and compared between groups. Data on family environment, parental stress and concerns were collected. Results One thousand three hundred seventy‐six children (9.45?±?4.78?years, 54% girls) in ECHO survey and 367 children (7.3?±?4.4?years, 48% girls) in E‐COPAIN survey were included. A negative impact of lockdown was found on 81% of children with physical disabilities. Behavioural problems were significantly more frequent (59.5% vs. 47.4%, P?