Coronavirus (COVID-19) - impact on wellbeing: survey summary

This summary contains key findings from wave two of a telephone survey we commissioned to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people in Scotland including on work and finances, neighbourhood support, personal wellbeing, and behaviour changes.


Key points

  • The societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are significant, and these impacts are distributed in uneven and evolving ways. 
  • The impacts are worse for people on lower household incomes, disabled people, women, people living in more deprived areas and people who do not own their own homes. 
  • The direct and indirect effects of the pandemic and restriction measures have underlined existing lines of inequality.
  • How and why experiences vary between people needs to be explored further through qualitative or ethnographic means. This will evidence the diverse ways in which our lives and wellbeing are changing.

1 in 3 had the virus or knew someone who had been infected

A quarter said their household income was lower than at the start of the pandemic

4 in 10 reported changes to their work since the beginning of the pandemic.

1 in 5 reported social contact less than once a week

The porportion of people who received help from others was lower than in May 2020

31% are exercising more and 27% are exercising less than before the pandemic

Contact

Email: covid-19.behaviours@gov.scot

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