What are the mental health impacts of epidemics on relatives of people affected, and relatives of healthcare workers: What interventions are available to support them? A systematic review and narrative synthesis

Introduction Although most countries and healthcare systems worldwide have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, some groups of the population may be more vulnerable to detrimental effects of the pandemic on mental health than others. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesise evidence currently available from systematic reviews on the impact of COVID-19 and other coronavirus outbreaks on mental health for groups of the population thought to be at increased risk of detrimental mental health impacts. Materials and methods We conducted a systematic review of reviews on adults and children residing in a country affected by a coronavirus outbreak and belonging to a group considered to be at risk of experiencing mental health inequalities. Data were collected on symptoms or diagnoses of any mental health condition, quality of life, suicide or attempted suicide. The protocol for this systematic review was registered in the online PROSPERO database prior to commencing the review (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=194264). Results We included 25 systematic reviews. Most reviews included primary studies of hospital workers from multiple countries. Reviews reported variable estimates for the burden of symptoms of mental health problems among acute healthcare workers, COVID-19 patients with physical comorbidities, and children and adolescents. No evaluations of interventions were identified. Risk- and protective factors, mostly for healthcare workers, showed the importance of personal factors, the work environment, and social networks for mental health. Conclusions This review of reviews based on primary studies conducted in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic shows a lack of evidence on mental health interventions and mental health impacts on vulnerable groups in the population.

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Mental Health Outcomes Among Healthcare Workers Dealing with COVID-19/ SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3633225 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Abhijit Dutta ◽

Avinash Sharma ◽

Rodrigo Torres-Castro ◽

Hariom Pachori ◽

SukhDev Mishra

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Mental Health Outcomes

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Review: Mental health impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on children and youth – a systematic review

Child and Adolescent Mental Health ◽

10.1111/camh.12501 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hasina Samji ◽

Judy Wu ◽

Amilya Ladak ◽

Caralyn Vossen ◽

Evelyn Stewart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Children And Youth ◽

Health Impacts

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Burden of predominant psychological reactions among the healthcare workers and general during COVID-19 pandemic phase: a systematic review and meta-analysis

10.1101/2021.01.02.21249126 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Bhaskar Thakur ◽

Mona Pathak

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Global Mental Health ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Random Effect ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Psychological Reactions ◽

Frontline Healthcare Workers ◽

Anxiety Depression

ABSTRACTAimPresent systematic review and meta-analysis examined the burden of psychological reactions predominantly anxiety, depression, stress and insomnia during novel COVID-19 pandemic phase among the frontline healthcare, non-frontline healthcare and general.MethodologyPubMed, EMBASE and SCOPUS were searched for studies between Jan 1, 2020 to May 25, 2020. Brief protocol of the systematic review was registered with the PROSPERO database, (CRD42020186229).Any study that reported the burden of at least one of psychological reactions including anxiety or depression or stress or insomnia was eligible. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 statistic and results were synthesized using random effect meta-analysis.ResultsOut of 52eligible studies, 43 reported anxiety, 43 reported depression, 20 reported stress and 11 reported insomnia. Overall prevalence for anxiety, depression, stress and insomnia were 26.6%, 26.2%,26.2% and 34.4% respectively. Anxiety and depression were found highest among the COVID-19 patients (43.3% and 51.75 respectively). Apart from COVID-19 patients, prevalence of anxiety, depression, stress and insomnia were found highest among the frontline healthcare (27.2%, 32.1%,55.6% and 34.4% respectively) as compared to general healthcare workers (26.9%, 15.7%, 7.0% and 34.0% respectively) and general population (25.9%, 25.9%,25.4% and 29.4% respectively).ConclusionAnxiety and depression were found highest among the COVID-19 patients. Apart from COVID-19 patients, the anxiety, depression, stress and insomnia were more prevalent among frontline healthcare workers compared to general. Such increased prevalence is prompting towards the global mental health emergency. Therefore a call of urgent attention and pan-region effective mental-health intervention are required to mitigate these psychological reactions.

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The Prevalence of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Trauma Violence & Abuse ◽

10.1177/1524838020958057 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 152483802095805

Author(s):

Unnati Patel ◽

Ronald Roesch

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Adult Population ◽

Health Impacts ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Pooled Prevalence ◽

Anxiety Depression ◽

Study Setting

The primary aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the prevalence of technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) within the adolescent and adult population regarding victimization and perpetration. In addition to the primary aim, associated health outcomes with TFSV were discussed through a qualitative lens. Specific forms of TFSV that were examined include distribution of, production of, and threats to distribute sexual material involving another individual without that person’s consent via images or videos; 425 articles from MEDLINE, PsycArticles, PsycINFO, Criminal Justice Abstracts, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, and Google Scholar were screened. Nineteen articles (comprising 20 independent samples) reporting prevalence rates of TFSV on 32,247 participants were included in this random-effects meta-analysis. Pooled prevalence of victimization results revealed that 8.8% of people have had their image or video-based sexts shared without consent, 7.2% have been threatened with sext distribution, and 17.6% have had their image taken without permission. Regarding perpetration, 12% have shared sexts beyond the intended recipient, 2.7% have threatened to share sexts, and 8.9% have nonconsensually taken an image. Moderator variables included publication year, mean participant age, proportion of female participants, and study setting, with meta-regression analyses revealing no significant predictors. Finally, a qualitative analysis of nine articles ( n = 3,990) was conducted to assess mental health associations with TFSV victimization, revealing significant mental health impacts, including anxiety, depression, and poor coping, for victims.

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