An assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on Indians – Part II
Bengaluru, May 2021: Velocity Healthcare, the recently launched SBU (Strategic Business Unit) of Velocity MR, catering to the healthcare insights needs of marketers, manufacturers & governments, released the second part of its Syndicated Report on – Impact Assessment of COVID and Its Ensuing Measures. The second part of the study encapsulates insightful data about understanding the financial, overall wellbeing and psychological implications of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The findings also detailed the various precautionary measures taken by people to manage their state of health
Apart from giving a pan-India narrative, the study compares overall data with
- Adult patient groups suffering from chronic ailments vs. healthy adults vs geriatric groups.
- Zone-wise Analysis – The analysis is based on zone-wise cities (North, South, East & West) with a sample size of 1078 respondents.
Velocity Healthcare conducted the pan-India survey of people divided into two broad age groups:
(a) Adults of 20-55 years of age AND (b) geriatric group (55+ yrs).
The adult group (20-55 yrs) was further segmented based on their current health condition. Broadly, people having Diabetes, Cardiac issues, Diabetic + Cardiac issues, and Healthy groups were selected. Also, only those suffering from these ailments for more than six months were taken into the sample.
21 cities from 4 regions of India were covered – North (Delhi, Indore, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Amritsar), South (Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Vizag), East (Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Varanasi, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati), West (Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Surat, Vadodara).
Second part of the study reveals that overall, 90% of people have been impacted due to the corona pandemic in one way or another. And those suffering from diabetes+cardiac seem to be the most impacted segment. On the other hand, geriatrics and healthy people seem to be relatively less impacted groups. The findings of the study show that 70% of people have been worst hit by the financial crisis- which is significant among diabetics+cardiac patients than others due to cut in salaries. 60% of the overall lifestyle had the most impact on Geriatrics.
The report further found that wearing a mask while washing hands regularly, maintaining social distancing, and regular use of sanitizers are among the top measures followed by people to ensure their well-being during the pandemic. These measures saw a further increase when the lockdown was uplifted, and till current times, the intake of vitamins and multivitamins is the most in diabetic+cardiac patients.
Jasal Shah, Managing Director & CEO, Velocity MR, states, “The outbreak of Covid-19 is the major destabilizing threat to the global economy. The pandemic has impacted every segment of life and has turned the lives of billions upside down. Now is the time to show global support and solidarity because only together can we overcome this pandemic. We must recognize this opportunity to build back strong together and ensure that the ‘new normal’ is the best one, so, rethink the future of the environment to protect the health, livelihoods, nutrition of all the people around us & yes, I urge everyone to get vaccinated against this deadly virus.”
Highlights of the study
Impact of COVID among 5 segments based on the ailment
- Diabetics
Top 2 Impact among majority group
- The financial well being of ~65% was impacted (cut in salaries)
- Physical well being of ~55% was impacted (disturbance in the routine morning/evening walk; difficulty in running/walking wearing a mask; impact on eyesight due to increased digital use; irregular eating habits and tend to eat more than normal; feel stressful and not able to focus on health)
Top 2 Impact among remaining
- Overall lifestyle of ~30% was impacted (higher indulgence on digital mode for entertainment and shopping; increased focus on health)
- The mental well being of ~25% was impacted (boredom caused by spending day at one place)
- Cardiac
Top 2 Impact among majority group
- The financial well being of ~65% was impacted (cut in salaries)
- Overall lifestyle of ~45% was impacted (higher indulgence on digital mode for entertainment and shopping; increased focus on health; switch from junk to healthy food options)
Top 2 Impact among remaining
- The mental well being of ~35% was impacted (boredom caused by spending day at one place)
- Physical well being of ~30% was impacted (disturbance in routine morning/evening walk; impact on eyesight due to increased digital use; feel of lethargy as maximum time spent at home; more sedentary lifestyle and gained weight)
- Diabetic + Cardiac
Top 2 Impact among majority group
- Financial well being of ~70% was impacted (cut in salaries)
- Physical well being of ~55% was impacted (disturbance in the routine morning/evening walk; irregular eating habits and tend to eat more than normal; feeling of lethargy as maximum time spent at home; more sedentary lifestyle and gained weight)
Top 2 Impact among remaining
- Mental well being of ~35% was impacted (feel more stressed than before)
- Overall lifestyle of ~25% was impacted (increased focus on health; switch from junk to healthy food options)
- Healthy
Top 2 Impact among majority group
- Financial well being of ~55% was impacted (cut in salaries)
- Overall lifestyle of ~40% was impacted (switch from junk to healthy food options, increased focus on health, indulgence to activities like Yoga and Meditation)
Top 2 Impact among remaining
- Mental well being of ~35% was impacted (boredom caused by spending day at one place)
- Physical well being of ~20% was impacted (feel of lethargy as maximum time spent at home; impact on eyesight due to increased digital use; more sedentary lifestyle and gained weight)
- Geriatrics
Top 2 Impact among majority group
- Overall lifestyle of ~60% was impacted (Higher indulgence on digital mode for entertainment and shopping; increased focus on health; indulgence to activities like Yoga and Meditation)
- Financial well being of ~50% was impacted (cut in salaries, reduction in business sale)
Top 2 Impact among remaining
- Mental well being of ~20% was impacted (boredom caused by spending day at one place)
- Physical well being of ~10% was impacted (disturbance in routine morning/evening walk; feel of lethargy as maximum time spent at home; difficulty in running/walking wearing a mask; got opportunity to be fitter & healthier)
Measures followed to ensure well-being during the pandemic
- Wearing a mask while going out, washing hands regularly, maintaining social distancing, and regular use of sanitizers are among the top measures followed by people to ensure their well-being during the pandemic. These measures saw a further increase when the lockdown was uplifted and till current times
- Few variations in this trend were observed among :
- Cardiac group: social distancing was observed 6% lesser by people after the eventual lifting of lockdown
- Diabetic+cardiac group: where, in addition to the above 4 measures, use of multivitamin/minerals also was a top measure for them which further increased when lockdown was uplifted and till current times
- South zone: there was the reduction in maintaining social distancing and regular use of sanitizers by 5% people after the lockdown was uplifted and till current time
About Velocity Healthcare
Velocity Healthcare is a tech-savvy healthcare insights provider that aims to provide reliable & actionable insights backed by quality data from global proprietary healthcare panels in 19+ countries with 150+ medical specialties. The need for healthcare insights has never been so realized ever before for marketers, manufacturers & governments. In the pursuit to help healthcare & allied services, Velocity Healthcare aims to provide reliable & actionable insights backed by quality data from proprietary healthcare panels & technology to add efficiency & reduce redundancies. In a nutshell, we’re the healthcare full-service research agency for end-to-end execution of primary market research.
