LOCKDOWN AND WOMEN HEALTH- A SURVEY AMONG SOUTH INDIAN EMPLOYED WOMEN

Abstract

CoronaVirus pandemic has put almost everyone out of their normal routines. Most of the countries have announced lockdowns and almost every job has turned online. Children have started with online education.With health as an important criteria, people had to think of their daily routines in a new way. Lockdown in Countries like India is really unimaginable . Being a big Country with a very high population, it is a difficult task for the people to cope up with their daily routines and take care of their health as well.Lockdown ironically has increased both physical strain as well as mental strain for the men and women of the family, especially for the womenThe pressure is high clearly as they are taking care of domestic chores, children as well as their jobs.This was a questionnaire-based study using an online survey portal called “survey planet.” An e-form was circulated among 102 employed women from South India, who had to manage their profession, household chores, kids , family’s health during lockdown . The data were collected during July 2020.The Questionnaire was prepared which included questions to assess their knowledge, awareness and perception towards women’s health, both mental and physical health amidst the pandemic. The Questions wereframed in such a way to create awareness on the stress and plight of employed women during lockdown. Results were obtained using proper statistical methods, and thus, the opinion on online education was studied.When asked whether they find it difficult to manage their family during the pandemic, uniformly all the participants(100%) have said that they find it very difficult to manage their family during a pandemic.When asked whether the participants feel depressed, a majority of (70%) of them have accepted that the uncertainty has created a feel of depression in them.It is time that the other members of the family also should realize the troubles faced by the employed women during lockdown and try to spare them some quality time to keep them fit. A feel of loneliness and anxiety can be removed if all the members work and spend time together. Thus, this survey was done to spread awareness on the importance of women’s health amidst the lockdown.