Mental health and COVID-19 perceptions in a predominant black population in the Eastern Caribbean: an exploratory study of residents of Barbados

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolene King ◽  
Dwayne Devonish
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Severe Depression ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mental Health Challenges

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the mental health challenges of residents of Barbados during the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationships between residents’ demographics, COVID-19 perceptions and mental health outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study surveyed 450 predominantly Black Caribbean respondents to examine their mental ill-health on the various dimensions of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-28 measure and the relationships with demographics and COVID-19 perceptions. Findings Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four-factor model solution of GHQ-28 over the single factor solution. Barbadians were generally mild in their mental ill-health on the somatic symptoms, social dysfunction and severe depression dimensions but were at least moderately strained on the anxiety and insomnia dimensions. Younger and unemployed Barbadian respondents reported more adverse mental health outcomes, and perceived severity of COVID-19 infection significantly predicted three of the four dimensions of mental distress (excluding severe depression). Research limitations/implications The study used a cross-sectional self-report survey research design which does not permit causal inferences. Further research is advised to ascertain the longitudinal effects of COVID-19 perceptions over time on mental health outcomes. Practical implications The study’s findings suggest the need for nation-wide, multi-stakeholder interventions or approaches in responding mental health challenges of the population during this crisis. Originality/value The study was the first to examine the mental health outcomes, using GHQ-28, in a small Caribbean country – which represents an underserved space in mental health research. It is the first to empirically examine the relationship between COVID-19 perceptions of Afro-Caribbean people in this region and their resultant mental health outcomes.

scholarly journals Acute psychological impact of coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak among psychiatric professionals in China: a multicentre, cross-sectional, web-based study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e047828
Author(s):  
Xin Guo ◽  
Robert McCutcheon ◽  
Toby Pillinger ◽  
Atheeshaan Arumuham ◽  
Jianhua Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Mental Stress ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Event Scale ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression

ObjectivesTo assess the magnitude of mental health outcomes and associated factors among psychiatric professionals in mental health services during COVID-19 in China.Design, setting and participantsThis cross-sectional, survey-based, region-stratified study collected demographic data and mental health measurements from psychiatric professionals in 34 hospitals between 29 January and 7 February 2020, in China. Hospitals equipped with fever clinics or deployed on wards for patients with COVID-19 were eligible.Primary outcome and measuresThe severity of symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia and distress were assessed by the Chinese versions of 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, 7-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder, 7-item Insomnia Severity Index and 22-item Impact of Event Scale-Revised, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression and structural equation modelling was performed to identify factors associated with mental health outcomes.ResultsA total of 610 psychiatric professionals were included. 29.8% were employed in Wuhan, and 22.5% were frontline workers. A considerable proportion of participants reported symptoms of depression (461 (75.6%)), anxiety (282 (46.2%)), insomnia (336 (55.1%)) and mental stress (481 (78.9%)). Psychiatric symptoms were associated with worrying about infection (eg, OR 2.36 (95% CI 1.27 to 4.39) for anxiety), risks of exposure to COVID-19 (eg, having inadequate personal protection equipment, OR 2.43 (1.32 to 4.47) for depression) and self-perceived physical health (eg, OR 3.22 (2.24 to 4.64) for mental stress). Information sources of COVID-19 were also found to be both positively (eg, information from relatives, OR 2.16 (1.46 to 3.21) for mental stress) and negatively (eg, information from TV, OR 0.52 (0.35 to 0.77) for mental stress) associated with mental stress. There is preliminary evidence that mental health might benefit from greater availability of mental healthcare services. The structural equation model analysis indicated that worrying about infection may be the primary mediator via which risk of exposure to COVID-19 pandemic affects the mental health of psychiatric professionals.ConclusionsThe current findings demonstrate several pathways via which the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively affected the mental health of psychiatric professionals in China.

Investigation of depression, anxiety and stress levels of health-care students during COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Obay A. Al-Maraira ◽  
Sami Z. Shennaq
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Psychological Counseling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Stress Levels

Purpose This study aims to determine depression, anxiety and stress levels of health-care students during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic according to various socio-demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study was conducted with 933 students. Data were collected with an information form on COVID- 19 and an electronic self-report questionnaire based on depression, anxiety and stress scale. Findings Findings revealed that 58% of the students experienced moderate-to-extremely severe depression, 39.8% experienced moderate-to-extremely severe anxiety and 38% experienced moderate-to-extremely severe stress. Practical implications Educational administrators can help reduce long-term negative effects on students’ education and mental health by enabling online guidance, psychological counseling and webinars for students. Originality/value This paper is original and adds to existing knowledge that health-care students’ depression, anxiety and stress levels were affected because of many factors that are not yet fully understood. Therefore, psychological counseling is recommended to reduce the long-term negative effects on the mental health of university students.

Longitudinal Effects of Gendered Harassment Perpetration and Victimization on Mental Health Outcomes in Adolescence

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (23-24) ◽  
pp. 5997-6016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah J. Rinehart ◽  
Dorothy L. Espelage ◽  
Kristen L. Bub
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Homophobic Name Calling ◽  
Gendered Harassment

Gendered harassment, including sexual harassment and homophobic name-calling, is prevalent in adolescents and is linked to negative outcomes including depression, anxiety, suicidality, substance abuse, and personal distress. However, much of the extant literature is cross-sectional and rarely are perpetrators of these behaviors included in studies of outcomes. Therefore, the current study examined the effects of longitudinal changes in gendered harassment perpetration and victimization on changes in mental health outcomes among a large sample of early adolescents. Given that these behaviors commonly occur in the context of a patriarchal society (males hold power), we also investigated the impact of gender on gendered harassment. Participants included 3,549 students from four Midwestern middle schools (50.4% female, 49% African American, 34% White) at two time points (13 and 17 years old). Results indicated that increases from age 13 to 17 years in sexual harassment perpetration and victimization and homophobic name-calling perpetration and victimization predicted increases in depression symptoms and substance use. Gender did not moderate these pathways. These findings highlight that negative outcomes are associated with changes in gendered harassment among adolescents and emphasize the importance of prevention efforts. Implications for school interventions are discussed.

Training frontline community agency staff in dialectical behaviour therapy: building capacity to meet the mental health needs of street-involved youth

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth McCay ◽  
Celina Carter ◽  
Andria Aiello ◽  
Susan Quesnel ◽  
Carol Howes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Dialectical Behavior Therapy ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Community Agency ◽  
Behaviour Therapy ◽  
Agency Staff ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Youth Outcomes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) training which was provided to community agency staff (N=18) implementing DBT in the community with street-involved youth. Design/methodology/approach Staff participated in a multi-component approach to training which consisted of webinars, online training, self-study manuals, and ongoing peer consultation. To evaluate assess the effectiveness of the training, questionnaires assessing evaluating DBT skills knowledge, behavioral anticipation and confidence, and DBT skills use, were completed at baseline, immediately post-training, four to six months post-training, and 12-16 months post-training. Additionally, the mental health outcomes for youth receiving the DBT intervention are reported to support the effectiveness of the training outcomes. Findings Results demonstrate that the DBT skills, knowledge, and confidence of community agency staff improved significantly from pre to post-training and that knowledge and confidence were sustained over time. Additionally, the training was clinically effective as demonstrated by the significant improvement in mental health outcomes for street-involved youth participating in the intervention. Practical implications Findings suggest that this evidence-based intervention can be taught to a range of staff working in community service agencies providing care to street-involved youth and that the intervention can be delivered effectively. Originality/value These findings help to close the knowledge-practice gap between evidence-based treatment (EBT) research and practice while promoting the implementation of EBT in the community to enhance positive youth outcomes.

scholarly journals Financial stress and mental health among higher education students in the UK up to 2018: rapid review of evidence

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 977-984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tayla McCloud ◽  
David Bann
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Financial Stress ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Uk

IntroductionIn the United Kingdom and many other countries, debt accrued during higher education has increased substantially in recent decades. The prevalence of common mental health problems has also increased alongside these changes. However, it is as yet unclear whether there is an association between financial stress and mental health among higher education students.MethodsWe conducted a rapid review of the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Eligible studies were English-language publications testing the association between any indicator of financial stress and mental health among higher education students in the UK. Papers were located through a systematic search of PsychINFO, PubMed and Embase up to November 2018.ResultsThe search strategy yielded 1272 studies—9 met the inclusion criteria. A further two were identified through hand-searching. The median sample size was 408. Only three of seven studies found an association between higher debt and worse mental health. There was a consistent cross-sectional relationship between worse mental health and both experience of financial difficulties (seven of seven studies) and debt worry/financial concern (four of five studies), though longitudinal evidence was mixed and limited to six studies.ConclusionAmong higher education students in the UK, there is little evidence that the amount of debt is associated with mental health. However, more subjective measures of increased financial stress were more consistently associated with worse mental health outcomes. Nevertheless, the identified evidence was judged to be weak; further research is required to examine whether links between financial stress and mental health outcomes are robust and causal in nature.

scholarly journals Mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 and perceptions towards the pandemic: Findings from a cross sectional study among Bangladeshi students

2020 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 105658
Author(s):  
Abu Sayeed ◽  
Satyajit Kundu ◽  
Md. Hasan Al Banna ◽  
M. Tasdik Hasan ◽  
Musammet Rasheda Begum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional
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