The Biggest Challenges People Faced During the Pandemic
We polled the nation in October 2020, December 2020, and March 2021 to illuminate how US communities have experienced COVID-19.
Severity of impact of challenges during COVID-19
We asked respondents how COVID-19 has changed their household’s situation, from their ability to access medicine, to employment status, to housing situation. Participants were asked to rate either how much their situation worsened or improved as a result of the pandemic.
The following question shows how US residents feel their household situation has changed across different aspects of their lives, for worse or for better, because of COVID-19.
Key Findings
- Respondents’ emotional or mental health suffered significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At least one in two respondents said their emotional or mental health situation worsened in October (50.0%) and December 2020 (55.0%). In March 2021, even with vaccines being distributed and a sense of normalcy beginning to return, 50.4% of respondents said their emotional or mental health situation worsened, showing some degree of recovery – but indicating the pandemic had lasting, major impacts on mental health. Furthermore, the proportion of respondents who said their emotional or mental health situation got much worse was greater in March 2021 (18.4%) than it was in October 2020 (14.9%).
- Across all polls nearly one in three respondents said that their ability to get medicines or medical treatments got worse due to COVID-19. Another one in three respondents said their ability to pay for food or other basic expenses got worse.
- Between October and December, the number of people who said their employment situation got much worse rose 4.9%.
- This large uptick may reflect the loss of steady income for more families, whether through the loss of employment, or the loss of guaranteed employment.
These results show that the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were immense and reached into many areas of peoples’ lives, from healthcare, to housing, to economic situation.
Economic areas such as employment, the ability to pay for basic necessities like food, the ability to get medicines or medical treatment, and housing were If employment is hard to maintain, other economic categories that rely on a source of income also deteriorate. As household economic situations worsen, they add more and more stress to individuals, which can, among other factors, lead to worsening of emotional or mental health. It is no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on many domains of most peoples’ lives, but it is evident from these results that economic concerns are a driving factor to these cascading consequences.
Next, we asked: What was the one challenge with the most negative impact on wellbeing?
We asked respondents to select the one challenge (out of nine possible challenges) that negatively impacted them the most.
COVID-19 has created many overlapping challenges – this question highlights which challenges, of many, were most harmful to most respondents during this time.
Key Findings
- At least one in three people said emotional and mental health was their greatest challenge during the pandemic.
- Employment situation was the second greatest challenge for US residents in both October and December (17% and 19%, respectively). In March, this was one of challenges that showed the biggest decrease from December (-3.2%).
- The proportion of respondents who said ability to pay for medicines or medical treatments was their greatest challenge increased in March (+2.1%) compared to both October and December.
These results show the immense impact on psychological well-being during the pandemic in the last quarter of 2020 and how issues may have shifted at the start of 2021. Increases in the number of respondents who said their greatest challenge was employment situation or ability to pay for basic expenses between October and December may reflect the ongoing (and in some areas, worsening) economic impact of COVID-19.
The downward shift in the number of respondents who said their biggest challenge was their ability to get medicines or treatment between October and December may be attributed to providers loosening limitations on in-office services or appointments. Especially in early stages of the pandemic, providers shifted to telehealth services to expand access to care, limit disease exposure for staff and patients, and reduce the patient demand on facilities. However, a perception among some patients that telehealth services do not provide the same quality of care and/or the fact telehealth is more difficult to access for some individuals may have limited their ability to access medicines or treatments.
The proportion of respondents who said their biggest challenge was their ability to pay for basic expenses or employment situation rose between October and December. In March, fewer respondents said these were their most pressing challenge, revealing signs of positive economic change. This could be attributed to national policy adjustments, improvement of finances that may have been further drained by the winter holiday season, and/or the Presidential transition.
The number of people who said their primary challenge was either caretaking, childcare, housing, or technology was very consistent across polls, likely due to economic challenges weighing more heavily or more tangibly on the majority of respondents. Additionally, policies such as the Federal Eviction Moratoriums in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic have limited the likelihood for housing situations to deteriorate between October and March, offering some relief to US residents through the pandemic.
These results show the immense impact on psychological well-being during the pandemic in the last quarter of 2020 and how issues may have shifted during the first quarter of 2021. Increases in the number of respondents who said their greatest challenge was employment situation or ability to pay for basic expenses between October and December may reflect the ongoing (and in some areas, worsening) economic impact of COVID-19. From December to March, the proportion of respondents who said emotional or mental health or ability to pay for medicines were their greatest challenges increased.
Polling was completed with support of the Walmart Foundation for our project, Impact of COVID-19 on Communities of Color.
COVID-19 and Equity Project
Read more about our work on equity during the pandemic: COVID-19: Equitable Response and Recovery