Covid Rehabilitation: Secondary Effects of Covid

NEW REPORT

Our first report of the Urban Health Council titled ‘Secondary Effects of Covid’ is out now for members.

INTRODUCTION

This report is to help frame Covid-19 as an experience rather than the current binary framing of “sick or not sick”. The reason this is necessary is to identify the different solutions, resources, strategies required for an equitable recovery, so no one is left behind. 

By experience we mean, all of the various factors that have contributed to the pandemic; lockdown, financial insecurity, social isolation, financial insecurity, disturbed family dynamics, family loss, and the experience of the disease itself. All of these factors can contribute to the secondary effects, such as mental and physical health disorders. 

Delving into the experience of Covid will also highlight where there is need for further data collection to understand the experience had by different communities. In turn this data can be used to create an equitable recovery strategy and provide the right health support. 

Although currently the focus on the COVID-19 pandemic has been mainly on the virus and patients affected, governments around the world should start planning for the long recovery process ahead. This does not simply mean a strong plan for the rollout of vaccines, but also understanding and preparing for the secondary effects of the pandemic in future years. In this report, we will discuss potential secondary effects of COVID-19, from a health, social and economic perspective, and what needs to be done to tackle these future challenges.

We define secondary effects of the pandemic as both the health side-effects of COVID-19 and those not directly related to the virus, but that still resulted from the pandemic and government policies enforced to curb the spread of the virus. 

This document is intended for people in public health, built environment professionals, and citizens looking to advance their education on health. Given the complexity of the challenges we will face as we recover from the experience of Covid, it will need a multidisciplinary approach. This means the collaboration, awareness and contribution of various industries and skillsets.