Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Among Lower Income Group of People in Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: To determine the Socio-economic Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic among lower income group of people in Lahore, Pakistan Material and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study design was used for conducting this research from April 2021 to September 2021 in Lahore and a self-structured questionnaire with multiple variables was filled by 274 participants. Non- Probability type of convenience sampling technique was used for data collection after informed consent. This paper was structured into two sections: The initial part addressed the socio-economic challenges experienced by impoverished individuals amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The subsequent section assessed the current state of Pakistan's healthcare system. Chi-square test was used for qualitative data analysis and p-value <0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Most of the participants (65.7%) in this survey were males and had an income of up to Rs.20,000/ month (70.1%).Out of total, 254 (92.7%) respondents had profound impact of Covid-19 on their lives economically. Majority of them 152(55.5%) visited public places while 133(48.5%) avoided social gatherings like marriages, funerals, religious events etc. during pandemic. More than half of the participants agreed that hospital beds and oxygen were neither available nor it was affordable during their stay at hospital. A significant association was found between family income of respondents and financial crisis faced by respondents when sick with covid-19(p-value=0.05), monthly income suffered due to lockdown or decrease in economy (p-value=0.04) and loan was taken to fulfill their household needs during pandemic (p-value=0.00). Conclusion: The study showed that 254 (92.7%) respondents had profound impact of Covid-19 on their lives economically. A significant association was found between family income of respondents and financial crisis faced by respondents when sick with covid-19, monthly income suffered due to lockdown or decreases in economy and loan taken to fulfill their household needs during pandemic.