Identifying how pre-existing resources combine to shape the experiences of work and family life of a diverse sample of working parents with at least one child in primary school in Scotland during COVID-19 pandemic-related social restrictions: a qualitative descriptive design

McQueen, Fiona; Osborn, Sharani

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to identify factors that shaped working parents (WPs’) experiences of COVID-19-related social restrictions and analyse the relationships between those factors. Design: A qualitative descriptive design was used to collect five time points of data including two online questionnaires and three telephone or online interviews between March 2021 and August 2021 with some follow-up interviews in December 2022. Setting: The COVID-19 pandemic led to social restrictions which greatly impacted WPs who had to both work and look after their children within their home space without any formal childcare. Participants: 19 participants living in Scotland who had at least one child of primary school age and who had been working in March 2020. Results: All parents were affected by social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the flexibility of employers, their socioeconomic situation and the amount of space in their home environment being particularly influential. The impact of social restrictions was greater for lone parents (LPs) due to the inability to share childcare with another adult in the home. Parents in low-income households were affected due to pre-existing inequalities of resources. Conclusions: These findings indicate several policy options that could mitigate negative outcomes for parents in the case of a future pandemic, including options to lessen inequities experienced by LPs. These include priority access to school places (particularly for children with underlying chronic medical conditions), the ability to establish a ‘support bubble’ at the beginning of social restrictions and being given access to safe outside places for children without a garden.

Citation

McQueen, F., & Osborn, S. (2024). Identifying how pre-existing resources combine to shape the experiences of work and family life of a diverse sample of working parents with at least one child in primary school in Scotland during COVID-19 pandemic-related social restrictions: a qualitative descriptive design. BMJ Open, 14(6), Article e078850. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078850

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 27, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jun 5, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-06
• Deposit Date: Jun 7, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2024
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-6055
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: e078850
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078850