A scoping review of the impacts of COVID-19 physical distancing measures on vulnerable population groups

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 599 - 19
• Main Authors: Li, Lili, Taeihagh, Araz, Tan, Si Ying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 03.02.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326/596/4130; 692/700/1538; 692/700/478; 706/648/453; 706/689/222; Aged; Aggression; Child; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; Disease transmission; Food security; Health services; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Income; Migrant workers; Minority & ethnic groups; multidisciplinary; Older people; People with disabilities; Physical Distancing; Populations; Refugees; Reviews; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sexual and Gender Minorities; Sexual Behavior; Social interactions; Socioeconomics; Tradeoffs; Vulnerable Populations
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36267-9

Most governments have enacted physical or social distancing measures to control COVID-19 transmission. Yet little is known about the socio-economic trade-offs of these measures, especially for vulnerable populations, who are exposed to increased risks and are susceptible to adverse health outcomes. To examine the impacts of physical distancing measures on the most vulnerable in society, this scoping review screened 39,816 records and synthesised results from 265 studies worldwide documenting the negative impacts of physical distancing on older people, children/students, low-income populations, migrant workers, people in prison, people with disabilities, sex workers, victims of domestic violence, refugees, ethnic minorities, and people from sexual and gender minorities. We show that prolonged loneliness, mental distress, unemployment, income loss, food insecurity, widened inequality and disruption of access to social support and health services were unintended consequences of physical distancing that impacted these vulnerable groups and highlight that physical distancing measures exacerbated the vulnerabilities of different vulnerable populations. Physical distancing measures introduced to control the spread of COVID-19 had socio-economic trade-offs that may have particularly impacted vulnerable population groups. Here, the authors perform a scoping review and summarise the impacts on different vulnerable groups described in 265 studies.