تجارب زیسته تغییرات سبک زندگی مادران شاغل در دوران همه‌گیری ویروس کووید19 به روش کیفی

Aim: The present study was conducted to investigate the lived experience of working mothers regarding their lifestyle changes in the face of covid-19 virus pandemic.
Methods: This qualitative study was performed using phenomenological methodology. The research was conducted using purposive sampling of working mothers in various educational fields in Tehran during 1400-1401. After conducting 20 persons, data saturation was reached. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with Smith's phenomenological method.
Results: In this research, 8 main themes and 19 secondary themes were obtained, which main themes are: physical habits, psychological vulnerability, job problems, change of cost-income pattern, couple conflicts, mother-child conflicts, forced presence at home and difficulty of caring responsibilities.
Conclusion: The results of this study indicate the need for comprehensive attention to the issues and challenges of working mothers in the face of the multidimensional and complex phenomenon of the Covid-19 pandemic and its numerous positive and negative consequences in the field of women`s lifestyle. The results of this research are important for cultural planners and the field of mental health.
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Keywords




Lifestyle, Covid-19 virus, Working mothers, Lived experiences, Phenomenology‌
 
‌Introduction
This research examines the living experiences of working women regarding the changes in their lifestyle during the Corona era. The COVID-19 virus, with its distinctive features, has compelled people to modify their lifestyles (Tajbakhsh, 2019), as lifestyle is a way to confront life's challenges (Kwong et al., 2021). Meanwhile, the outbreak of this virus as a social crisis has led to many positive and negative changes in the lives of working mothers. The research by Schmid et al. (2020), McLaren et al. (2020), and Farhadi and Gholamnazari (2019) indicates that women bear more pressure during social crises—an issue that has not been adequately addressed in public policies and health measures.
 
Methodology
TThe current research was conducted in the interpretivism paradigm, adopting a qualitative approach with a phenomenological orientation. The method of data collection involved semi-structured interviews, facilitated by an "interview guide." The primary interview questions were:

How has your lifestyle changed during the Covid-19 pandemic?
What issues have you faced during the Covid-19 pandemic?

The statistical population of this research encompassed all working mothers in various educational fields residing in Tehran. Purposive sampling was employed in the research process, continuing until 20 cases were reached, and theoretical data saturation was achieved. The entry criteria for the research included being married, aged 35-50, residing in Tehran, having at least one child who is a student, and working in various educational fields. All interviews were conducted via video calls and lasted for 30-40 minutes.
In this study, Smith's data analysis method was employed. After extracting the main sentences and phrases from the interview text, 730 initial codes were obtained. In the subsequent step, repeated phrases and overlapping codes were eliminated through comparison and integration. This process led to the formation of secondary themes and, subsequently, main themes, representing more abstract concepts.
 
Findings
The analysis of participants' experiences in this research identified and categorized them into 8 main themes and 19 sub-themes. The first main theme, "Physical habits," included the sub-themes of "Irregularity in sleep patterns," "Change in eating patterns," "Weight gain," and "Non-follow-up of medical examinations." The second main theme, "Psychological vulnerability," included the sub-themes of "Depression experience," "Anxiety experience and Obsessive-compulsive," "Loneliness and homesickness experience," and "Decrease in fun and positive emotions." The third main theme, "Job problems," included the sub-theme of "Teleworking." The fourth main theme, "Change in cost-income pattern," included the sub-themes "Change in the amount of income" and "Change in the amount of expenses." The fifth main theme, "Couple conflict," encompassed the themes of "Increasing marital conflicts" and "Decreasing sexual satisfaction." The sixth main theme, "Mother-child conflicts," included the sub-themes "Conflict caused by children's education in virtual space" and "Conflict caused by children's free time." The seventh main theme, "Mandatory presence at home," covered the sub-themes "Increasing effective interactions among family members" and "Weakness in managing interactions." The eighth main theme, "Difficulty of caring responsibilities," consisted of the sub-themes "Increasing women's responsibility due to caring for patients" and "Feeling dissatisfied with ignoring the role of women in treating patients.
 
Result
According to the results of the current research, the lifestyle of Iranian families, especially working mothers, has undergone many positive and negative changes during the Covid-19 virus epidemic. In terms of physical habits, negative changes have been observed in sleep patterns, lack of follow-up of medical examinations, inactivity, and excessive use of medicinal supplements. At the same time, mothers, as one of the main pillars of the family and determiners of the family nutrition pattern, have been able to enrich nutrition and strengthen the immune system of family members by reviving traditional cooking. Additionally, during this period, women experienced many psychological vulnerabilities such as depression, loneliness, obsession, and anxiety. The problems caused by remote work and a lack of mastery of software in the educational field have also imposed another psychological burden on them. This epidemic has caused problems for the livelihood of families and brought about a fundamental change in the household goods basket. Compulsory presence at home, despite creating a closer relationship and experiencing creative behaviors in the family, has caused a decrease in compatibility among them due to the weakness of the members in managing these interactions, leading to occurrences of mother-child conflicts and couple conflicts. Finally, the responsibility of taking care of patients has imposed additional pressure on women.
 
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