Individuals with Cleft Lip and/or Palate Demonstrated Improved Self-Reported Psychosocial Functioning Following the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Published in: JPRAS open 2024-09, Vol.41, p.138-147
• Main Authors: Larson, Jordan H., Ho, Kelly C., Lai, Hillary, Shaholli, Vick, Smetona, John, Vicari, Frank, Naran, Sanjay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cleft lip; Cleft palate; Original; Outcomes; Psychological assessment; Psychosocial adjustment; Quality of life
• ISSN: 2352-5878; 2352-5878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpra.2024.05.012

To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychosocial functioning of individuals with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P). Patients with CL/P ≥ 6 years old were prospectively recruited from the Cleft and Craniofacial Clinic of a tertiary children's hospital. From July-October 2021, eligible patients (or their parent/guardian) were sent a survey regarding their psychosocial functioning before and after the start of the pandemic. The difference between prepandemic and intrapandemic patient-reported outcome scores. Thirty-six patients (20 female, age: 15.9 ± 9.8 years) responded. Most had cleft lip and palate (77.8%), responded online (69.4%), interacted remotely via both voice- and video-conferencing (62.9%), and wore masks routinely (77.1%). Similar numbers of patients responded independently (27.8%), responded with the help of a parent/guardian (36.1%), or had a parent/guardian respond on their behalf (36.1%). General social-emotional well-being (p = 0.004, rrb = 0.659) and satisfaction with facial appearance (p = 0.044, rrb = 0.610) significantly improved after the start of the pandemic. Compared to their general intrapandemic social-emotional well-being scores, patients reported higher scores while wearing a mask (rrb = 0.827) and lower scores while interacting remotely (rrb = 0.605), although all were still significantly improved compared to their prepandemic scores (p ≤ 0.010). Patients also reported significant improvement in social functioning while wearing a mask (p = 0.036, rrb = 0.519), whereas they did not when considering their general intrapandemic feelings/experiences (p = 0.269, rrb = 0.211). Patients with CL/P demonstrated significant improvement in overall social-emotional well-being, satisfaction with facial appearance, and social functioning after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly when wearing a mask.