Occupational changes during the COVID-19 lockdown in Jordan

Abstract

Background: Measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 have disrupted the lives of countless millions of individuals worldwide. Objective: To explore the experiences of occupational disruption and changing social roles among Jordanians during COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. The specific aim was to explore the changing occupations, routines, roles and coping strategies. Material and Methods: This qualitative study used a digital ethnographic approach. Data collection included online observations of Jordanian’s posts of comments, photos and videos on six public Facebook pages during the COVID-19 lockdown for the initial 3-week period. In addition, 150 Jordanians participated in an online interview answering four open-ended questions to achieve triangulation. Qualitative analyses included open coding of the photos, videos and text as well as the interviews independently and blindly by the research team. Results: Four themes were identified: changing daily occupations; changing family roles; missing pre-lockdown life and coping strategies under lockdown. Conclusion: The COVID-19 lockdown restrictions caused direct, significant and immediate changes to Jordanians’ occupations, routines and roles; enforcing new obligatory occupations and eliminating desired ones. Significance: Knowledge from this study highlight the kinds of strategies and supports during and after lockdowns that need to be considered in future planning of occupational therapy practice in Jordan.