Research project TD/231/BE-WELL (Research action TD)
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted various facets of people’s lives. For young adults who were on the verge of transitioning into adulthood, these disruptions may have had an especially profound impact. Similarly, older individuals were particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, and their day-to-day routines have been significantly affected. Family ties may have acquired a special importance to buffer some of the adverse consequences of the pandemic and to preserve health and well-being. Consequently, caregivers may have encountered new challenges pertaining to their well-being. At the same time, the role of non-family ties has received limited attention in research on the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BE-WELL project is an interdisciplinary research initiative, involving demographers, sociologists, and researchers in public health. Focusing on Belgium, and adopting a comparative and life-course perspective, the project examines four main domains where care relations and well-being were affected by the COVID-19 crisis: young adults’ residential shifts (Work Package 2, WP2), the variance and impacts of informal care on well-being of caregivers (WP3), the role of family and non-family ties on older people well-being (WP4), and unmet (mental) healthcare needs (WP5). The gender dimension, the socio-economic disadvantage, and welfare policies are incorporated as overarching themes of each WP. In WP3-WP5, the goal is to measure objective and subjective well-being (loneliness, physical and mental health, healthcare needs, etc.) according to specific profiles of individuals. By focusing on measurable goals, the BE-WELL project will inform federal policies, for improved care, health, and well-being during global crises.
