scholarly journals Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation Among Unpaid Caregivers in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Relationships to Age, Race/Ethnicity, Employment, and Caregiver Intensity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark É Czeisler ◽  
Alexandra Drane ◽  
Sarah S Winnay ◽  
Emily R Capodilupo ◽  
Charles A Czeisler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Hispanic White

AbstractObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of unpaid caregiving during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and to identify factors associated with adverse mental health symptoms, substance use, and suicidal ideation in this population, which provides critical support in health care systems by providing care to older adults and those with chronic conditions.MethodsIn June 2020, Internet-based surveys with questions about demographics, caregiving responsibilities, and mental health were administered to US adults aged ≥18 years. Demographic quota sampling and survey weighting to improve cross-sectional sample representativeness of age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Prevalence ratios for adverse mental health symptoms were estimated using multivariable Poisson regressions.ResultsOf 9,896 eligible invited adults, 5,412 (54.7%) completed surveys; 5,011 (92.6%) respondents met screening criteria and were analysed, including 1,362 (27.2%) caregivers. Caregivers had higher prevalences of adverse mental health symptoms than non-caregivers, including anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms (57.6% vs 21.5%, respectively, p<0.0001) having recently seriously considered suicide (33.4% vs 3.7%, p<0.0001). Symptoms were more common among caregivers who were young vs older adults (e.g., aged 18–24 vs ≥65 years, aPR 2.75, 95% CI 1.95–3.88, p<0.0001), Hispanic or Latino vs non-Hispanic White (1.14, 1.04–1.25, p=0.0044), living with vs without disabilities (1.18, 1.10–1.26, p<0.0001), and with moderate and high vs low Caregiver Intensity Index scores (2.31, 1.65–3.23; 2.81, 2.00–3.94; both p<0.0001). Suicidal ideation was more prevalent among non-Hispanic Black vs non-Hispanic White caregivers (1.48, 1.15–1.90, p=0.0022).ConclusionsCaregivers, who accounted for one in four US adult respondents in this nationally representative sample, more commonly reported adverse mental health symptoms than non-caregivers. Increased visibility of and access to mental health care resources are urgently needed to address mental health challenges of caregiving.

scholarly journals Flattening the Mental Health Curve: COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders Are Associated With Alterations in Mental Health Search Behavior in the United States

10.2196/19347 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. e19347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas C Jacobson ◽  
Damien Lekkas ◽  
George Price ◽  
Michael V Heinz ◽  
Minkeun Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Search Queries ◽  
Negative Thoughts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

Background The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to dramatic changes worldwide in people’s everyday lives. To combat the pandemic, many governments have implemented social distancing, quarantine, and stay-at-home orders. There is limited research on the impact of such extreme measures on mental health. Objective The goal of this study was to examine whether stay-at-home orders produced differential changes in mental health symptoms using internet search queries on a national scale. Methods In the United States, individual states vary in their adoption of measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19; as of March 23, 2020, 11 of the 50 states had issued stay-at-home orders. The staggered rollout of stay-at-home measures across the United States allows us to investigate whether these measures impact mental health by exploring variations in mental health search queries across the states. This paper examines the changes in mental health search queries on Google between March 16-23, 2020, across each state and Washington, DC. Specifically, this paper examines differential changes in mental health searches based on patterns of search activity following issuance of stay-at-home orders in these states compared to all other states. The participants were all the people who searched mental health terms in Google between March 16-23. Between March 16-23, 11 states underwent stay-at-home orders to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Outcomes included search terms measuring anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive, negative thoughts, irritability, fatigue, anhedonia, concentration, insomnia, and suicidal ideation. Results Analyzing over 10 million search queries using generalized additive mixed models, the results suggested that the implementation of stay-at-home orders are associated with a significant flattening of the curve for searches for suicidal ideation, anxiety, negative thoughts, and sleep disturbances, with the most prominent flattening associated with suicidal ideation and anxiety. Conclusions These results suggest that, despite decreased social contact, mental health search queries increased rapidly prior to the issuance of stay-at-home orders, and these changes dissipated following the announcement and enactment of these orders. Although more research is needed to examine sustained effects, these results suggest mental health symptoms were associated with an immediate leveling off following the issuance of stay-at-home orders.

scholarly journals Flattening the Mental Health Curve: COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders Are Associated With Alterations in Mental Health Search Behavior in the United States (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas C Jacobson ◽  
Damien Lekkas ◽  
George Price ◽  
Michael V Heinz ◽  
Minkeun Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Search Queries ◽  
Negative Thoughts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to dramatic changes worldwide in people’s everyday lives. To combat the pandemic, many governments have implemented social distancing, quarantine, and stay-at-home orders. There is limited research on the impact of such extreme measures on mental health. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to examine whether stay-at-home orders produced differential changes in mental health symptoms using internet search queries on a national scale. METHODS In the United States, individual states vary in their adoption of measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19; as of March 23, 2020, 11 of the 50 states had issued stay-at-home orders. The staggered rollout of stay-at-home measures across the United States allows us to investigate whether these measures impact mental health by exploring variations in mental health search queries across the states. This paper examines the changes in mental health search queries on Google between March 16-23, 2020, across each state and Washington, DC. Specifically, this paper examines differential changes in mental health searches based on patterns of search activity following issuance of stay-at-home orders in these states compared to all other states. The participants were all the people who searched mental health terms in Google between March 16-23. Between March 16-23, 11 states underwent stay-at-home orders to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Outcomes included search terms measuring anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive, negative thoughts, irritability, fatigue, anhedonia, concentration, insomnia, and suicidal ideation. RESULTS Analyzing over 10 million search queries using generalized additive mixed models, the results suggested that the implementation of stay-at-home orders are associated with a significant flattening of the curve for searches for suicidal ideation, anxiety, negative thoughts, and sleep disturbances, with the most prominent flattening associated with suicidal ideation and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that, despite decreased social contact, mental health search queries increased rapidly prior to the issuance of stay-at-home orders, and these changes dissipated following the announcement and enactment of these orders. Although more research is needed to examine sustained effects, these results suggest mental health symptoms were associated with an immediate leveling off following the issuance of stay-at-home orders.

scholarly journals Flattening the Mental Health Curve: COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders are Associated with Alterations in Mental Health Search Behavior in the United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas C. Jacobson ◽  
Damien Lekkas ◽  
George Price ◽  
Michael V. Heinz ◽  
Minkeun Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Search Queries ◽  
Negative Thoughts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

Background: COVID-19 has led to dramatic changes globally in persons’ everyday lives. To combat the pandemic, many governments have implemented social distancing, quarantine, and stay-at-home orders. There is limited research on the impact of such extreme measures on mental health. Objective: The goal of the present study was to examine whether stay-at-home orders produced differential changes in mental health symptoms using internet search queries at a national scale. Methods: In the United States, individual states vary in their adoption of measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19; as of March 23, 2020, eleven of the fifty states had issued stay-at-home orders. The staggered rollout of stay-at-home measures across the U.S. allows us to investigate whether these measures impact mental health by exploring variations in mental health search queries across the states. The current manuscript examines the changes in mental health search queries on Google between March 16-23, 2020 across each state and Washington D.C. Specifically, the current manuscript examines differential change in mental health searches based on patterns of search activity following issuance of stay-at-home orders in these states compared to all other states. Participants included all persons who searched mental health terms in Google between March 16-23. Between March 16-23, eleven states underwent stay-at-home orders to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Outcomes included search terms measuring anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive, negative thoughts, irritability, fatigue, anhedonia, concentration, insomnia, and suicidal ideation. Results: Analyzing over 10 million search queries using generalized additive mixed models, the results suggested that the implementation of stay-at-home orders are associated with a significant flattening of the curve for searches for suicidal ideation, anxiety, negative thoughts, and sleep disturbances with the most prominent flattening associated with suicidal ideation and anxiety. Conclusions: These results suggest that, despite decreased social contact, mental health search queries increased rapidly prior to the issuance of stay-at-home orders, and these changes dissipated following the announcement and enactment of these orders. Although more research is needed to examine sustained effects, these results suggest mental health symptoms were associated with an immediately leveling off following the issuance of stay-at-home orders.

scholarly journals COVID-19 is having a destructive impact on health-care workers’ mental well-being

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris Vanhaecht ◽  
Deborah Seys ◽  
Luk Bruyneel ◽  
Bianca Cox ◽  
Gorik Kaesemans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Sources Of Support ◽  
Mental Well Being

Abstract Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may aggravate workplace conditions that impact health-care workers’ mental health. However, it can also place other stresses on workers outside of their work. This study determines the effect of COVID-19 on symptoms of negative and positive mental health and the workforce’s experience with various sources of support. Effect modification by demographic variables was also studied. Methods A cross-sectional survey study, conducted between 2 April and 4 May 2020 (two waves), led to a convenience sample of 4509 health-care workers in Flanders (Belgium), including paramedics (40.6%), nurses (33.4%), doctors (13.4%) and management staff (12.2%). About three in four were employed in university and acute hospitals (29.6%), primary care practices (25.7%), residential care centers (21.3%) or care sites for disabled and mental health care. In each of the two waves, participants were asked how frequently (on a scale of 0–10) they experienced positive and negative mental health symptoms during normal circumstances and during last week, referred to as before and during COVID-19, respectively. These symptoms were stress, hypervigilance, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, unable to relax, fear, irregular lifestyle, flashback, difficulty concentrating, feeling unhappy and dejected, failing to recognize their own emotional response, doubting knowledge and skills and feeling uncomfortable within the team. Associations between COVID-19 and mental health symptoms were estimated by cumulative logit models and reported as odds ratios. The needed support was our secondary outcome and was reported as the degree to which health-care workers relied on sources of support and how they experienced them. Results All symptoms were significantly more pronounced during versus before COVID-19. For hypervigilance, there was a 12-fold odds (odds ratio 12.24, 95% confidence interval 11.11–13.49) during versus before COVID-19. Positive professional symptoms such as the feeling that one can make a difference were less frequently experienced. The association between COVID-19 and mental health was generally strongest for the age group 30–49 years, females, nurses and residential care centers. Health-care workers reported to rely on support from relatives and peers. A considerable proportion, respectively, 18 and 27%, reported the need for professional guidance from psychologists and more support from their leadership. Conclusions The toll of the crisis has been heavy on health-care workers. Those who carry leadership positions at an organizational or system level should take this opportunity to develop targeted strategies to mitigate key stressors of health-care workers’ mental well-being.

scholarly journals A learning algorithm for predicting mental health symptoms and substance use

2021 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 22-29
Author(s):  
Anthony T. Fojo ◽  
Catherine R. Lesko ◽  
Kelly S. Benke ◽  
Geetanjali Chander ◽  
Bryan Lau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms

“Toughness” in association with mental health symptoms among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking Veterans Affairs health care.

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Jakupcak ◽  
Rebecca K. Blais ◽  
Joel Grossbard ◽  
Hector Garcia ◽  
John Okiishi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Veterans Affairs ◽  
Afghanistan War ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
War Veterans ◽  
Health Symptoms

scholarly journals Developing a Framework to Increase Access to Mental Health Services for Children With Special Needs in Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tammy L. Hughes ◽  
Cydney Quinn ◽  
Amy Tiberi ◽  
Waganesh A. Zeleke
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Cultural Taboos

The availability and accessibility of Westernized mental health diagnostic processes and evidence-based treatments are limited in developing countries, such as Ethiopia (Kakuma et al., 2011; Hohenshil et al., 2013; Wondie, 2014; Zeleke et al., 2017b). Similar to other developing nations, there is (a) a lack of health care services for mental practices to build on, (b) limited services that are well-suited to the culture (Wondie, 2014; Zeleke et al., 2019), (c) limited scientific literature useful for documenting the needs of the Ethiopian public, and (d) too few mental health professional preparation programs (Zeleke et al., 2019). Whereas Western cultures generally follow the biomedical model conceptualization and treatment of disease, non-Western cultures, such as Ethiopia tend to adhere to traditional and religious views to explain the origin of mental illness (Kortmann, 1987; Jacobsson and Merdassa, 1991). Mental health symptoms may be attributed to supernatural causes or other spiritual crises, rather than a combination of biopsychosocial influences. As such, individuals seeking help with mental health symptoms in Ethiopia are mostly limited to family, friends and local community healers (Zeleke et al., 2017a, 2019). When individuals are brought to the few places providing Westernized mental health care, it is often only after exhausting other traditional and religious alternatives (Bekele et al., 2000). Even when there is a desire to seek Westernized services, socioeconomic circumstance, cultural factors (e.g., a focus on collectivism practices), negative attitudes toward mental illness, along with unfamiliarity and fear of these new practices, are noted barriers to receiving treatments. Beliefs passed down through cultural taboos go on to effect multiple generations. Not only do barriers affect individuals, but they also negatively impact the range of services for children, families and communities. With the ultimate goal of improving mental health care access for children, a full appreciation of the context is essential.

Stressful life events and relationships are associated with mental health symptoms and substance use in young adolescents

2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. e10
Author(s):  
N.C. Low ◽  
E. Dugas ◽  
D. Rodriguez ◽  
G. Contreras ◽  
E. O'Loughlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Young Adolescents ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms
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