scholarly journals Exploring factors in fear of COVID-19 and its GIS-based nationwide distribution: the case of Bangladesh

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed A. Mamun
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Present Sample ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Psychological Risk

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health threat of international concern, intensifying peoples’ psychological risk and vulnerability by strengthening mental health stressors such as fear, panic and uncertainty. The unexpected fear of COVID-19 has been reported to be associated with suicide occurrences, similar to prior pandemics. Aims Identifying the factors associated with fear of COVID-19 could help us to develop better mental health strategy and practice to improve the situation here in Bangladesh. This was the first attempt to present a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based distribution of fear of COVID-19 across the country's administrative districts in a nationwide sample. Method Data for a total of 10 067 individuals were collected by an online survey during the first wave of the pandemic (1 to 10 April 2020); data for 10 052 participants were finally analysed after excluding 15 transgender individuals. The survey questionnaire included items concerning sociodemographic, behavioural and health-related variables, COVID-19-related issues, and the Bangla Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Results The mean fear of COVID-19 scores was 21.30 ± 6.01 (out of a possible 35) in the present sample. Female gender, highly educated, non-smoker, non-alcohol consumer, having chronic diseases, using social media, and using social media and not using newspapers as COVID-19 information sources were associated with a higher level of fear of COVID-19. Higher levels of fear of COVID-19 were found in districts of Magura, Panchagarh, Tangail, Sunamganj and Munshiganj; by contrast, Kushtia, Pirojpur, Chapainawabganj, Jhalokathi and Naogaon districts had lower fear of COVID-19. Based on the GIS-distribution, fear of COVID-19 was significantly associated with the district as well as in respect to its gender-based and education-level-based associations. However, fear of COVID-19 and COVID-19 cases were heterogeneously distributed across the districts; that is, no consistent association of higher COVID-19 cases with higher fear of COVID-19 was found. Conclusions This study being exploratory in nature may help to facilitate further studies, as well as directing governmental initiatives for reducing fear of COVID-19 in at-risk individuals. Providing adequate resources and mental health services in the administrative regions identified as highly vulnerable to fear of COVID-19 is recommended.

scholarly journals What College Students Post About Depression on Facebook and the Support They Perceive: Content Analysis

10.2196/13650 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. e13650
Author(s):  
Scottye Cash ◽  
Laura Marie Schwab-Reese ◽  
Erin Zipfel ◽  
Megan Wilt ◽  
Megan Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Qualitative Responses ◽  
Racial Ethnic ◽  
Do So

Background College students frequently use social media sites to connect with friends. Increasingly, research suggests college students and other young adults seek mental health-related support on social media, which may present a unique venue for intervention. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine college students’ perceptions about displaying feelings of depression on Facebook and, in turn, how their social media friends responded. Methods A primarily quantitative online survey with open response questions was distributed to students at four US universities. Qualitative responses were analyzed using content analysis. Results A total of 34 students provided qualitative responses for analysis, these students were 85.3% female, mean age 20.2 (SD=1.4) and 20.6% racial/ethnic minority. Students who reported posting about depression often expressed an emotion or feeling but did not use the word “depression” in the post. Approximately 20% posted language about a bad day, and 15% posted a song or music video. Only one person reported posting a statement that directly asked for help. When friends responded to the posts, students generally perceived the responses as supportive or motivating gestures. Nearly 15% of friends contacted the individual outside of Facebook. One individual received a negative response and no responses suggested that the individual seek help. Conclusions This study found that college students who post about depression often do so without directly referencing depression and that friends were generally supportive. However, no participants reported their social network suggested they seek help, which may suggest increasing mental health literacy, for both support seekers and responders, would be an opportunity to improve online mental health-related support.

scholarly journals What College Students Post About Depression on Facebook and the Support They Perceive: Content Analysis (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scottye Cash ◽  
Laura Marie Schwab-Reese ◽  
Erin Zipfel ◽  
Megan Wilt ◽  
Megan Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Qualitative Responses ◽  
Racial Ethnic ◽  
Do So

BACKGROUND College students frequently use social media sites to connect with friends. Increasingly, research suggests college students and other young adults seek mental health-related support on social media, which may present a unique venue for intervention. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine college students’ perceptions about displaying feelings of depression on Facebook and, in turn, how their social media friends responded. METHODS A primarily quantitative online survey with open response questions was distributed to students at four US universities. Qualitative responses were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS A total of 34 students provided qualitative responses for analysis, these students were 85.3% female, mean age 20.2 (SD=1.4) and 20.6% racial/ethnic minority. Students who reported posting about depression often expressed an emotion or feeling but did not use the word “depression” in the post. Approximately 20% posted language about a bad day, and 15% posted a song or music video. Only one person reported posting a statement that directly asked for help. When friends responded to the posts, students generally perceived the responses as supportive or motivating gestures. Nearly 15% of friends contacted the individual outside of Facebook. One individual received a negative response and no responses suggested that the individual seek help. CONCLUSIONS This study found that college students who post about depression often do so without directly referencing depression and that friends were generally supportive. However, no participants reported their social network suggested they seek help, which may suggest increasing mental health literacy, for both support seekers and responders, would be an opportunity to improve online mental health-related support.

scholarly journals How is the COVID-19 lockdown impacting the mental health of parents of school-age children in the UK? A cross-sectional online survey

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e043397
Author(s):  
Austen El-Osta ◽  
Aos Alaa ◽  
Iman Webber ◽  
Eva Riboli Sasco ◽  
Emmanouil Bagkeris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

ObjectiveInvestigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on feelings of loneliness and social isolation in parents of school-age children.DesignCross-sectional online survey of parents of primary and secondary school-age children.SettingCommunity setting.Participants1214 parents of school-age children in the UK.MethodsAn online survey explored the impact of lockdown on the mental health of parents with school-age children, and in particular about feelings of social isolation and loneliness. Associations between the UCLA Three-Item Loneliness Scale (UCLATILS), the Direct Measure of Loneliness (DMOL) and the characteristics of the study participants were assessed using ordinal logistic regression models.Main outcome measuresSelf-reported measures of social isolation and loneliness using UCLATILS and DMOL.ResultsHalf of respondents felt they lacked companionship, 45% had feelings of being left out, 58% felt isolated and 46% felt lonely during the first 100 days of lockdown. The factors that were associated with higher levels of loneliness on UCLATILS were female gender, parenting a child with special needs, lack of a dedicated space for distance learning, disruption of sleep patterns and low levels of physical activity during the lockdown. Factors associated with a higher DMOL were female gender, single parenting, parenting a child with special needs, unemployment, low physical activity, lack of a dedicated study space and disruption of sleep patterns during the lockdown.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 lockdown has increased feelings of social isolation and loneliness among parents of school-age children. The sustained adoption of two modifiable health-seeking lifestyle behaviours (increased levels of physical activity and the maintenance of good sleep hygiene practices) wmay help reduce feelings of social isolation and loneliness during lockdown.

scholarly journals Mental Health, Information and Being Connected: Qualitative Experiences of Social Media Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic from a Trans-National Sample

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 735
Author(s):  
Schoultz Mariyana ◽  
Leung Janni ◽  
Bonsaksen Tore ◽  
Ruffolo Mary ◽  
Thygesen Hilde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
National Study ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mental Health Information ◽  
The Uk

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict national policies regarding social distancing behavior in Europe, America and Australia, people became reliant on social media as a means for gathering information and as a tool for staying connected to family, friends and work. This is the first trans-national study exploring the qualitative experiences and challenges of using social media while in lockdown or shelter-in-place during the current pandemic. Methods: This study was part of a wider cross-sectional online survey conducted in Norway, the UK, USA and Australia during April/May 2020. The manuscript reports on the qualitative free-text component of the study asking about the challenges of social media users during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, USA and Australia. A total of 1991 responses were included in the analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted independently by two researchers. Results: Three overarching themes identified were: Emotional/Mental Health, Information and Being Connected. Participants experienced that using social media during the pandemic amplified anxiety, depression, fear, panic, anger, frustration and loneliness. They felt that there was information overload and social media was full of misleading or polarized opinions which were difficult to switch off. Nonetheless, participants also thought that there was an urge for connection and learning, which was positive and stressful at the same time. Conclusion: Using social media while in a shelter-in-place or lockdown could have a negative impact on the emotional and mental health of some of the population. To support policy and practice in strengthening mental health care in the community, social media could be used to deliver practical advice on coping and stress management. Communication with the public should be strengthened by unambiguous and clear messages and clear communication pathways. We should be looking at alternative ways of staying connected.

scholarly journals Mining Social Media Data for Biomedical Signals and Health-Related Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 433-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rion Brattig Correia ◽  
Ian B. Wood ◽  
Johan Bollen ◽  
Luis M. Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Media Data

Social media data have been increasingly used to study biomedical and health-related phenomena. From cohort-level discussions of a condition to population-level analyses of sentiment, social media have provided scientists with unprecedented amounts of data to study human behavior associated with a variety of health conditions and medical treatments. Here we review recent work in mining social media for biomedical, epidemiological, and social phenomena information relevant to the multilevel complexity of human health. We pay particular attention to topics where social media data analysis has shown the most progress, including pharmacovigilance and sentiment analysis, especially for mental health. We also discuss a variety of innovative uses of social media data for health-related applications as well as important limitations of social media data access and use.

Tracking self-reported symptoms and medical conditions on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinglan Ding ◽  
Daisy Massey ◽  
Chenxi Huang ◽  
Connor Grady ◽  
Yuan Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Positive Predictive Value ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
Medical Conditions ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Over Time

BACKGROUND Harnessing health-related data posted on social media in real-time has the potential to offer insights into how the pandemic impacts the mental health and general well-being of individuals and populations over time. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to obtain information on symptoms and medical conditions self-reported by non-Twitter social media users during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and to determine how discussion of these symptoms and medical conditions on social media changed over time. METHODS We used natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to identify symptom and medical condition topics being discussed on social media between June 14 and December 13, 2020. The sample social media posts were geotagged by NetBase, a third-party data provider. We calculated the positive predictive value and sensitivity to validate the classification of the posts. We also assessed the frequency of different health-related discussions on social media over time during the study period, and compared the changes in the frequency of each symptom/medical condition discussion to the fluctuation of U.S. daily new COVID-19 cases during the study period. Additionally, we compared the trends of the 5 most commonly mentioned symptoms and medical conditions from June 14 to August 31 (when the U.S. passed 6 million COVID-19 cases) to the trends observed from September 1 to December 13, 2020. RESULTS Within a total of 9,807,813 posts (nearly 70% were sourced from the U.S.), we identified discussion of 120 symptom topics and 1,542 medical condition topics. Our classification of the health-related posts had a positive predictive value of over 80% and an average classification rate of 92% sensitivity. The 5 most commonly mentioned symptoms on social media during the study period were: anxiety (in 201,303 posts or 12.2% of the total posts mentioning symptoms), generalized pain (189,673, 11.5%), weight loss (95,793, 5.8%), fatigue (91,252, 5.5%), and coughing (86,235, 5.2%). The 5 most discussed medical conditions were: COVID-19 (in 5,420,276 posts or 66.4% of the total posts mentioning medical conditions), unspecified infectious disease (469,356, 5.8%), influenza (270,166, 3.3%), unspecified disorders of the central nervous system (253,407, 3.1%), and depression (151,752, 1.9%). The changes in the frequency of 2 medical conditions, COVID-19 and unspecified infectious disease, were similar to the fluctuation of daily new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. CONCLUSIONS COVID-19 and symptoms of anxiety were the two most commonly discussed health-related topics on social media from June 14 to December 13, 2020. Real-time monitoring of social media posts on symptoms and medical conditions may help assess the population's mental health status and enhance public health surveillance for infectious disease.

scholarly journals Self-reported psychological distress during the COVID-19 outbreak in Nepal: findings from an online survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamal Gautam ◽  
Ramesh P. Adhikari ◽  
Aman Sen Gupta ◽  
Rajan Kumar Shrestha ◽  
Pitambar Koirala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
The Past ◽  
Psychological Impacts ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background A lower respiratory tract infection caused by novel coronavirus termed as Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) was first identified in China and subsequently took the form of pandemic. Studies on disease outbreak in the past and recent COVID-19 outbreak have demonstrated increased psychological distress and adverse impacts on mental health and psychological wellbeing of people. However, the impact of COVID-19 on psychological wellbeing of people in Nepal hasn't been studied adequately. So, this paper aims to report the findings from a social media survey on psychological impacts of COVID-19 in Nepal. Methods Data were collected through social media from 2082 Nepalese respondents between 23rd April, 2020 and 3rd May, 2020. A total of 2014 respondents who were currently residing in Nepal were included in the analysis. Results The study suggested that half of the respondents suffered from at least one symptom of psychological distress whereas 32% suffered from two or more symptoms of psychological distress such as restlessness, fearfulness, anxiety and worry and sadness in the past 2 weeks preceding the survey date. The findings further suggested that respondents having lower family income, residing in rented room, and participants from province 2 were more likely to suffer from both single and multiple symptoms of psychological distress. Conclusion The study has shown high prevalence of psychological distress amongst the Nepalese respondents following COVID-19 outbreak. Appropriate mental health and psychosocial support response needs to be instituted to adequately respond to psychological impacts of the epidemic.

scholarly journals Social Media Activities, Emotion Regulation Strategies, and Their Interactions on People’s Mental Health in COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (23) ◽  
pp. 8931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Yang ◽  
Keqiao Liu ◽  
Siqi Li ◽  
Man Shu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Regulation Strategies

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the general population’s life worldwide. People may spend more time on social media because of policies like “work at home”. Using a cross-sectional dataset collected through an online survey in February 2020, in China, we examined (1) the relationships between social media activities and people’s mental health status and (2) the moderation effect of emotional-regulation strategies. The sample included people aged ≥18 years from 32 provinces and regions in China (N = 3159). The inferential analyses included a set of multiple linear regressions with interactions. Our results showed that sharing timely, accurate, and positive COVID-19 information, reducing excessive discussions on COVID-19, and promoting caring online interactions rather than being judgmental, might positively associate with the general public’s psychological well-being. Additionally, the relationships between social media activities and psychological well-being varied at different emotion-regulation strategy levels. Adopting the cognitive reappraisal strategy might allay the adverse relationships between certain social media activities and mental health indicators. Our findings expanded the theory of how social media activities can be associated with a human being’s mental health and how it can interact with emotion-regulation strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Association of Social Media Use With Social Well-Being, Positive Mental Health, and Self-Rated Health: Disentangling Routine Use From Emotional Connection to Use

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 69S-80S ◽  
Author(s):  
Mesfin A. Bekalu ◽  
Rachel F. McCloud ◽  
K. Viswanath
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Dose Effect ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Emotional Connection ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Health Related

Most studies addressing social media use as a normal social behavior with positive or negative effects on health-related outcomes have conceptualized and measured social media use and its effects in terms of dose–effect relations. These studies focus on measuring frequency and duration of use, and have seldom considered users’ emotional connections to social media use and the effects associated with such connections. By using a scale with two dimensions capturing users’ integration of social media use into their social routines and their emotional connection to the sites’ use, the present study has brought preliminary evidence that may help map where social media use, as a normal social behavior, may be considered beneficial or harmful. Data from a nationally representative sample ( n = 1,027) of American adults showed that while routine use is associated with positive health outcomes, emotional connection to social media use is associated with negative health outcomes. These associations have been consistent across three health-related outcomes: social well-being, positive mental health, and self-rated health. The data also showed that the strength of the positive and negative associations of routine use and emotional connection with the health outcomes varies across socioeconomic and racial/ethnic population subgroups. Our findings suggest that the link between social media use and health may not only be captured by and explained in terms of conventional dose–effect approaches but may also require a more sophisticated conceptualization and measurement of the social media use behavior.

Do Primary Care Physicians Help the Bereaved With Their Suicide Losses: Loss Survivor Perceptions of Helpfulness From Physicians

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 476-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Feigelman ◽  
Rebecca L. Sanford ◽  
Julie Cerel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Survivors Of Suicide ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Mental Health Distress ◽  
Suicide Bereaved

Several previous studies suggested that primary care physicians can provide important bereavement assistance to survivors of suicide, yet no study has investigated whether suicide-bereaved patients perceive their physicians as helpful. Contacting bereavement communities on social media, we collected online survey data from 146 bereaved respondents reporting suicides causing them severe emotional distress. Data analysis suggested that nearly half (48%) of the respondents encountered positive, help-offering responses from physicians, compared to 10% whose responses were deemed as negative. Analysis of our data suggested that loss survivors’ perceptions of a physician’s helping or reproachful responses were associated with differences in grief difficulties and mental health distress.

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