Ask me if I am okay: COVID-19 and the psychological and social impact of long-term shielding experiences of people with sickle cell disorders and their care givers

This pilot mixed methods study wanted to understand the psychological impact, as well as the social needs, of people with sickle cell disorders (SCD) who had been identified as ‘extremely clinically vulnerable’ by the government and had been asked to ‘shield’ at home from the 23rd of March 2020, to when shielding was officially lifted, on the 31st of March 2021. We were also interested in how parents who had SCD and parents of children with the condition were coping. We found that throughout the pandemic, while people’s very basic social needs were being met, their psychological health needs were not.