Expanding the Notion of Personal Well-Being During COVID-19 Campus Closure in India: Results from a Mixed-Methods Study with Members of Higher Education

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged lives globally in unprecedented ways. While numerous studies have discussed the impact of this pandemic on human lives, this descriptive study examined how this pandemic affected personal well-being (PW) for members of Indian higher education in the early phase of the pandemic in 2020 when there were no vaccines and remedies available. Research participants (n = 551) were faculty members, graduate students, and non-teaching staff in Indian higher education. At the time of data collection, when all campuses were closed, all participants were functioning in their roles in the academic communities via virtual platforms. This descriptive study, based on a mixed-methods research design with concurrent triangulation strategies, collected data from all regions of India. Resulting data identified and discussed the impact of the pandemic on six domains of PW in the life of participants: (a) self-care; (b) professional growth; (c) quality of interrelationship within the family; (d) relationships with significant others outside of the family; (e) process of experiencing/facing and addressing challenges; and, (f ) relationship with spirituality/transcendental dimensions. The relevance of the last domain may be unique to Indian participants’ socio-cultural context and ethos. The findings and discussion explain how PW is a composite of all these six domains, and the pandemic expanded the notion of PW for the members of Indian higher education. Further, the findings also provided a general orientation on how educational leadership teams and institutions can enhance at least three specific dimensions of their community members and thus increase the likelihood of improving the quality of their professional and personal life. The findings may also have relevance for academic communities worldwide and inform clinicians working with members of academic communities, educational institutions and policymakers.