Identification of emerging harms due to COVID-19 outbreak: a qualitative study in Iran.

Publication date: Jan 29, 2025

Although COVID-19 has altered various harms and exacerbated the prevalence of some of them, this period has also set the stage for the emergence of new harms. The present study aims to identify the emerging harms resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. The study was conducted using a qualitative content analysis approach through semi-structured interviews with 21 experts and professors knowledgeable about social harms and COVID-19 consequences who were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. Data analysis was carried out using the Graneheim and Lundman’s method in MAXQDA-2018 software. Guba and Lincoln’s criteria were used to trustworthiness of results. The results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a range of issues and problems at various levels of society that were not considered social harms before the pandemic, given their prevalence and impact. After analyzing the data, four main categories and fourteen subcategories were identified. The main categories were social fatigue, ineffective education system, formation of a digital lifestyle, and formation of a new understanding and meaning of death and life. The COVID-19 crisis has intensified existing social harms and introduced new ones, rendering previous mitigation strategies ineffective. Designing novel policies and guidelines is crucial to address these evolving challenges and reduce the adverse societal impacts of the pandemic.

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Concepts Keywords
Fourteen COVID-19
Iran Emerging harms
Pandemic Iran
Professors Qualitative study

Semantics

Type Source Name
disease MESH COVID-19
disease MESH lifestyle
disease MESH death
pathway REACTOME Reproduction
drug DRUGBANK Coenzyme M
disease MESH infectious diseases
disease MESH psychological stress
disease MESH confusion
disease MESH unemployment
disease MESH depression
disease MESH domestic violence
disease MESH obesity
disease MESH alcohol abuse
disease IDO process
drug DRUGBANK L-Phenylalanine
disease MESH social problems
drug DRUGBANK Pentaerythritol tetranitrate
drug DRUGBANK Methionine
drug DRUGBANK Ethionamide
drug DRUGBANK Ranitidine
disease IDO quality
drug DRUGBANK Trestolone
disease IDO role
disease MESH anxiety
drug DRUGBANK Indoleacetic acid
disease MESH violence
disease IDO intervention
disease MESH social vulnerabilities
drug DRUGBANK Aspartame
disease MESH Pneumonia
drug DRUGBANK Amlodipine
disease MESH mental illness
drug DRUGBANK Nonoxynol-9
pathway KEGG Coronavirus disease
disease IDO contact tracing
drug DRUGBANK Serine

Original Article

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