Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health, Well-being and Quality of Life of Women in Rural Maharashtra

Abstract

In Maharashtra, Mahila Aarthik Vikas Mandal (MAVIM), a non-profit initiative of the Government of Maharashtra, India, works to build the overall capacities of women. It acts as a nodal agency to implement various female-empowerment schemes of central and state governments. The general observation of MAVIM was that post-COVID-19, women from rural sectors experienced high rates of depression and anxiety. Hence, to understand the extent of the mental well-being of rural women, a cross-sectional field study was planned in the two worst-affected rural sectors of the Vidarbha region, located in central India.