Impact of COVID-19 measures on psychosocial outcomes in Austria – a qualitative vignette study

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, Austria implemented frequent and restrictive containment measures. We aimed to explore the perspectives of individuals affected by political and epidemiological decisions in Austria, particularly in Vienna and Lower Austria. A qualitative vignette-based study conducted from July to Oct 2023 utilized two hypothetical future pandemic scenarios to prompt in-depth discussions in semi-structured interviews with Austrian residents about their perspectives, either private or from the fields of healthcare, education, citizen representation, business, research, public health and politics. Interview data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach. To ensure results’ rigor and accuracy, we followed the COREQ guideline and included two citizen research partners. This project is funded by WWTF (Grant ID: LS22071). Preliminary thematic analysis from 28 interviewees (53.6% female) aged 19-77 (mean 53.0 years) shows that the negative effects of school closures was a major concern among participants. Despite diverging points of view on other topics, there was a broad consensus that school closures would have negative consequences, such as unstable educational modalities impairing young people’s individual development, decreasing psychosocial support in their peer groups, leading to long-term educational losses, not only for individuals but also for society as a whole, and having a negative impact on economic growth, social justice and innovation. The participants also described a lack of evidence for the necessity of the frequent school closures during the pandemic as had happened in Austria and suggested a different approach in a future pandemic. Further topics were the deterioration of mental health, incentives instead of mandatory measures, more transparent communication by authorities, agreement between experts and researchers, reducing uncertainties regarding pandemic management, compliance by the general public and democratic social cohesion. Key messages • Addressing the multi-faceted impact of a pandemic requires a comprehensive approach that considers mental health, social justice, communication and social cohesion alongside containment measures. • This work represents a learning from the COVID-19 pandemic. From the conclusions of this study, recommendations can be derived to be better equipped in future pandemics.