Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Parents, children and COVID-19

This month in Take Charge of Your Health, we are discussing parents, children and COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents and children have been tested. For parents, the stress can be overwhelming—from trying to navigate education for their children to the financial strain on their family. The constant worry about everyone’s mental, emotional and physical … Continued The post Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Parents, children and COVID-19 appeared first on New Pittsburgh Courier.

Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Parents, children and COVID-19

This month in Take Charge of Your Health, we are discussing parents, children and COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents and children have been tested.

For parents, the stress can be overwhelming—from trying to navigate education for their children to the financial strain on their family. The constant worry about everyone’s mental, emotional and physical health can, at times, be too much. Even though many families have experienced these same feelings, each family has a different story to tell. We know families in Pittsburgh are feeling these stresses, and we must find a way to talk about it.

Topics like mental health, food access and technology overload are on everyone’s radar. Many of these issues existed before the pandemic and were only made worse during this unforeseen time. COVID-19 has exposed how we depend on each other as members of society, and the foundation of society starts with the family.

COVID-19 is an equal-opportunity disease, and, unfortunately, it has a larger impact on those who have limited access to resources. COVID-19 doesn’t care what your job title is or how much money is in your bank account. All families, Black or white, are affected, and we must check in on families.

Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, has developed a study called Triple C (the “C” stands for “children, COVID-19 and consequences”). This study measures economic precarity. Economic precarity refers to families’ income, wealth, economic hardship, food insecurity, parental unemployment and access to health insurance and financial stability.

Dr. Votruba-Drzal is gathering data on how families are managing through the pandemic. The data that are being collected may help others who are going through similar challenges. Dr. Votruba-Drzal alarmingly points out that many of the people who are being affected by COVID-19 might not easily rebound, especially my brothers and sisters of color. My hope is that the importance of this topic will be elevated upon seeing the results of this study. But perhaps even more important are individual community members’ involvement in these discussions.

I urge everyone to engage in these types of discussions with your own health care providers or seek out researchers like Dr. Votruba-Drzal or other health care and mental health professionals to share your stories so that together we can fight to be in a better place, a better Pittsburgh.

Inequity has played a huge role in the hardships that are continuing to unfold, not only in the City of Pittsburgh but throughout the world. With the support and research that is available within Allegheny County, many families can and will overcome these challenging times. The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh will continue to be a shoulder for you to lean on, an ear to listen to your worries and your fears and a compassionate heart in continuing to be your advocate and supporter. We will continue to weather this COVID-19 storm together.

Esther L. Bush, President and CEO
Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh

The post Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Parents, children and COVID-19 appeared first on New Pittsburgh Courier.