Safety Measures and Hygienic Conditions in Therapy Centers for Special Needs Children during COVID-19 Pandemic in Pakistan

Abstract

The study focused on the safety measures taken by the therapists working with special children in their clinics during COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. The study was designed on the qualitative paradigm of research. The sample was constituted of five parents and twenty therapists out of which twenty-eight were speech therapists, six ABA therapists, and six Occupational therapists. A Snowball sampling technique was used to locate the respondents. Two Interview Guides were developed – one for the therapists and one for the parents, and the Observational Checklist was the tools for data collection. The interview guide contained questions about their knowledge about COVID-19, the care they must take of the place in terms of hygiene, handling of the children at the workplace, services being rendered to the clients, and changes they had carried out in their services since the outbreak. The Observation Checklist was based on the parameters given by the WHO for the safety and hygiene measures during the pandemic of COVID-19. It was found out that all the therapists were well aware of the sensitivities of the pandemic. Though they were careful about the hygiene and the recommended safety measures, these were not practically being implemented in true spirit.