About this Research Topic

Background

COVID-19 has resulted in drastic societal change worldwide, which has impacted our lives in different ways and to varying extents. This impact is visible across various aspects of life including psychological, social, physical wellbeing, and financial stability.
People living with diabetes represent an already at-risk group in terms of reduced quality of life due to the demands of managing their condition. Studies in the beginning of the pandemic have shown that the pandemic impacts psychosocial health among people with diabetes negatively. Thus, it is likely that the pandemic exacerbated the psychosocial challenges experienced under normal circumstances by people with diabetes. Considering this, it is essential that we take steps to further understand the psychosocial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic for individuals living with diabetes, to inform future research directions and support strategies where these are needed.

The psychosocial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic for individuals living with diabetes is not well understood. Thus there is a lack of awareness of the challenges and support needs of people with diabetes as a corollary of frequent periods of lockdown and changes to health services and social contact. This Research Topic therefore aims to provide a space to explore how the pandemic has impacted individuals living with diabetes and the people who support them (family, friends, healthcare providers). This topic is vital to acknowledge how individuals living with diabetes can be supported as society emerges from a state of seclusion, into a different way of living. There is a need to understand the positive and negative impact of the pandemic across different types of diabetes, people of different age/sex/education/etc. groups, and among those in caregiving roles.

Given the complexity of this topic, it is inevitable that research will expand as the years go on, however this Research Topic will be a good starting point to gather and disseminate the most recent work on the topic. Broadly, we welcome manuscripts which focus on the psychosocial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Themes within this include, but are not exclusive to:
- Psychological impact of lockdown (e.g. resulting societal changes, social isolation, occupational changes)
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diabetes self-management
- Perspectives toward the COVID-19 Vaccine
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to psychological and/or healthcare support
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on caregiver wellbeing and/or role responsibilities.

All types of manuscripts are encouraged, to include: Literature Reviews; Systematic reviews (including Scoping Reviews and Critical Realist Reviews); Opinion and Position papers; Qualitative studies; Quantitative studies (interventions, experimental, observational). Studies using Social Data will also be encouraged.

Articles may focus on people living with diabetes (any age, any type of diabetes) and/or caregivers (family/friends/healthcare providers).

Keywords: Diabetes, Psychological Distress, Psychosocial Support Systems, COVID-19, Psychosocial Health, Mental Health

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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