challenges and difficulties related to quarantine in the pediatric population in Ecuador.

Abstract

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic triggered home isolation as an initial preventive measure. Pediatric patients have been the most affected by these measures, causing psychological effects, such as depression, anguish, fear, and post-traumatic stress; among the physical effects, there is evidence of effects on nutritional status, inactivity, and sleep disorders and in the educational sphere, the main difficulty is evident among children with some condition that prevents them from using or accessing the technology necessary for virtual classes.

Objective: Analyze the challenges and difficulties related to quarantine in the pediatric population in Ecuador with respect to the psychological and physical effects produced by confinement.

Materials and methods: It was carried out a descriptive theoretical review of documentary type, with the search, review, organization, and analysis of a set of studies and scientific articles, consulting the databases of various medical journals published from 2016 to 2021 about the difficulties related to quarantine by COVID-19 in the pediatric population. The PRISMA diagram was necessary to select the articles, and selected keywords in Spanish and English as a basis for tracking the publications.

Results: 73 articles were analyzed, selecting 43 to obtain scientific validity information to develop the topic.

Conclusions: Confinement causes psychological effects such as depression and anxiety, physical effects such as malnutrition in some and obesity in others, as well as school dropout and absence due to difficulties in the use and access to technology to continue education virtually.