scholarly journals Mobile Sensing Apps and Self-management of Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic – an Online Survey (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banuchitra Suruliraj ◽  
Kitti Bessenyei ◽  
Alexa Bagnell ◽  
Patrick McGrath ◽  
Lori Wozney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Mobile Sensing ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Maladaptive Behaviors ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Perceived Helpfulness

BACKGROUND In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, people had to adapt their daily life routines to the public health measures in place, which is likely to have resulted in a lack of social contacts in person, physical activity or sleep. Such changes can have a significant impact on mental health. Mobile sensing apps can passively record the daily life routines of people making them aware of maladaptive behavioral adjustments to the pandemic. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the views of people on mobile sensing apps passively recording behaviors and their potential to increase awareness and helpfulness for self-managing mental health during the pandemic. METHODS We conducted an anonymous online survey including people with and without mental disorders asking them to rate the helpfulness of mobile sensing apps for the self-management of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey took place in May, 2020. RESULTS The majority of participants particularly those with a mental disorder (72%) perceived mobile sensing apps as very or extremely helpful for managing their mental health by becoming aware of maladaptive behaviors. The perceived helpfulness of mobile sensing apps was further higher among people experiencing a stronger impact of COVID-19 (β = 0.24; 95% CI, 0.16-0.33; P < .001), having a better understanding of technology (β = 0.17; 95% CI, 0.08-0.25; P < .001), and a higher education (β = 0.1; 95% CI, 0.02-0.19; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS The findings highlight the potential of mobile sensing apps to assist in mental health care during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Mobile Sensing Apps and Self-management of Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic – an Online Survey (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Banuchitra Suruliraj ◽  
Kitti Bessenyei ◽  
Alexa Bagnell ◽  
Patrick McGrath ◽  
Lori Wozney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Mobile Sensing ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Maladaptive Behaviors ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Perceived Helpfulness

BACKGROUND In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, people had to adapt their daily life routines to the public health measures in place, which is likely to have resulted in a lack of social contacts in person, physical activity or sleep. Such changes can have a significant impact on mental health. Mobile sensing apps can passively record the daily life routines of people making them aware of maladaptive behavioral adjustments to the pandemic. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the views of people on mobile sensing apps passively recording behaviors and their potential to increase awareness and helpfulness for self-managing mental health during the pandemic. METHODS We conducted an anonymous online survey including people with and without mental disorders asking them to rate the helpfulness of mobile sensing apps for the self-management of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey took place in May, 2020. RESULTS The majority of participants particularly those with a mental disorder (72%) perceived mobile sensing apps as very or extremely helpful for managing their mental health by becoming aware of maladaptive behaviors. The perceived helpfulness of mobile sensing apps was further higher among people experiencing a stronger impact of COVID-19 (β = 0.24; 95% CI, 0.16-0.33; P < .001), having a better understanding of technology (β = 0.17; 95% CI, 0.08-0.25; P < .001), and a higher education (β = 0.1; 95% CI, 0.02-0.19; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS The findings highlight the potential of mobile sensing apps to assist in mental health care during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Mobile Sensing Apps and Self-management of Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Web-Based Survey

10.2196/24180 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. e24180
Author(s):  
Banuchitra Suruliraj ◽  
Kitti Bessenyei ◽  
Alexa Bagnell ◽  
Patrick McGrath ◽  
Lori Wozney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Mobile Sensing ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Maladaptive Behaviors ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Perceived Helpfulness

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, people had to adapt their daily life routines to the currently implemented public health measures, which is likely to have resulted in a lack of in-person social interactions, physical activity, or sleep. Such changes can have a significant impact on mental health. Mobile sensing apps can passively record the daily life routines of people, thus making them aware of maladaptive behavioral adjustments to the pandemic. Objective This study aimed to explore the views of people on mobile sensing apps that passively record behaviors and their potential to increase awareness and helpfulness for self-managing mental health during the pandemic. Methods We conducted an anonymous web-based survey including people with and those without mental disorders, asking them to rate the helpfulness of mobile sensing apps for the self-management of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was conducted in May 2020. Results The majority of participants, particularly those with a mental disorder (n=106/148, 72%), perceived mobile sensing apps as very or extremely helpful for managing their mental health by becoming aware of maladaptive behaviors. The perceived helpfulness of mobile sensing apps was also higher among people who experienced a stronger health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (β=.24; 95% CI 0.16-0.33; P<.001), had a better understanding of technology (β=.17; 95% CI 0.08-0.25; P<.001), and had a higher education (β=.1; 95% CI 0.02-0.19; P=.02). Conclusions Our findings highlight the potential of mobile sensing apps to assist in mental health care during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: A Longitudinal Study Using Penalized Logistic Regression

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingyu Cui ◽  
Jingwei Lu ◽  
Yijia Weng ◽  
Grace Y. Yi ◽  
Wenqing He
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Missing Values ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Related

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant influence on the public mental health in a stealthy manner. Current efforts focus on alleviating the impacts of the disease on public health and economy, with the psychological effects due to COVID-19 largely ignored. In this paper, we analyze a mental health related dataset from the US to enhance our understanding of human reactions to the pandemic. We are particularly interested in providing quantitative characterization of the pandemic impact on the public mental health, on top of qualitative explorations. We employ the multiple imputation by chained equations (MICE) method to deal with missing values and take the logistic regression with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) method to identify risk factors for mental health. The analyses are conducted to a large scale of online survey data from 12 consecutive weeks, so that the longitudinal trend of the risk factors can be investigated. Our analysis results unveil evidence-based findings to identify the groups who are psychologically vulnerable to COVID-19. This study is useful to assist healthcare providers and policy makers to take steps for mitigating the pandemic effects on public mental health.

scholarly journals Perceived efficacy of COVID-19 restrictions, reactions and their impact on mental health during the early phase of the outbreak in six countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Jensen Mækelæ ◽  
Niv Reggev ◽  
Natalia Bezerra Dutra ◽  
Ricardo M. Tamayo ◽  
Reinaldo A. Silva-Sobrinho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Early Phase ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
School Closings ◽  
Life Habits

The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to drastically change their social life habits as governments employed harsh restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus. Although beneficial to physical health, the perception of physical distancing and related countermeasures could impact mental health. In a pre-registered online survey, we assessed how effective a range of countermeasures were perceived, how severely they affected daily life, general distress and paranoia during the early phase of the outbreak in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Israel, Norway and US. Most of our over 2000 respondents rated the countermeasures as effective. School closings were perceived as having the strongest effect on daily life. Participants who believed their country reacted too mildly perceived the risk of contracting Sars-CoV-2 to be higher, were more worried and expressed reduced beliefs in the ability to control the outbreak. Relatedly, dissatisfaction with governmental actions corresponded with increased distress levels. Together, we found that satisfaction with one’s governmental actions and fear appraisal play an important role in assessing the efficacy of countermeasures during the pandemic and their related psychological outcomes. These findings inform policy-makers on the psychological factors that strengthen resilience and foster the well-being of citizens in times of global crisis.

scholarly journals The Public Mental Health While in a Community Quarantine Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review of Literature Using Google Scholar

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Labana
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Google Scholar ◽  
Psychosocial Aspect ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
The Public

The state of community lock-down due to COVID-19 pandemic caused restricted movements of people. There are existing evidence of the negative impact of quarantine and isolation to the mental health of a person in different contexts. A scoping review of literature using Google Scholar was conducted to discover records about the public mental health while in a community quarantine due to COVID-19 pandemic. A methodological approach suggested by Arksey and O&rsquo;Malley was utilized. It comprised (a) identifying the research questions, (b) identifying relevant literatures, (c) selecting literature, (d) charting the extracted data, and (e) summarizing, analyzing, and reporting the results. As of April 17, 2020, there were only 4 original articles found that discuss psychosocial aspect of the COVID-19 crisis. After an online survey, they present evidence that (1) there is an outward change in the people&rsquo;s behavior toward self-care during the pandemic and (2) trusting the community governing bodies can minimize the level of anxiety and stress. Other literatures found are original articles in preprint (n=8), letters, commentaries, editorial (n=6), review paper (n=4), and WHO guideline (n=1). It is evident that the psychosocial aspect of COVID-19 crisis needs more attention from the scholars and a large research gap can be lessened trough expansion of online platforms.

scholarly journals Perceived efficacy of COVID-19 restrictions, reactions and their impact on mental health during the early phase of the outbreak in six countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 200644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Jensen Mækelæ ◽  
Niv Reggev ◽  
Natalia Dutra ◽  
Ricardo M. Tamayo ◽  
Reinaldo A. Silva-Sobrinho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Early Phase ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
School Closings ◽  
Life Habits

The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to drastically change their social life habits as governments employed harsh restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus. Although beneficial to physical health, the perception of physical distancing and related restrictions could impact mental health. In a pre-registered online survey, we assessed how effective a range of restrictions were perceived, how severely they affected daily life, general distress and paranoia during the early phase of the outbreak in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Israel, Norway and USA. Most of our over 2000 respondents rated the restrictions as effective. School closings were perceived as having the strongest effect on daily life. Participants who believed their country reacted too mildly perceived the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 to be higher, were more worried and expressed reduced beliefs in the ability to control the outbreak. Relatedly, dissatisfaction with governmental reactions corresponded with increased distress levels. Together, we found that satisfaction with one's governmental reactions and fear appraisal play an important role in assessing the efficacy of restrictions during the pandemic and their related psychological outcomes. These findings inform policy-makers on the psychological factors that strengthen resilience and foster the well-being of citizens in times of global crisis.

scholarly journals Changes in the Health of Adolescent Athletes: A Comparison of Health Measures Collected Before and During the CoVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy A. McGuine ◽  
Kevin Biese ◽  
Scott J. Hetzel ◽  
Labina Petrovska ◽  
Stephanie Kliethermes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Adolescent Athletes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Measures

ABSTRACT Context: In the spring of 2020, schools closed to in-person teaching and sports were cancelled to control the transmission of CoVID-19. The changes that took place to the physical and mental health among young athletes during this time remain unknown, however. Objective: Identify changes in the health (mental health, physical activity and quality of life) of athletes that occurred during the CoVID-19 pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Sample recruited via social media. Patients or Other Participants: 3243 Wisconsin adolescent athletes (age=16.2±1.2 yrs., female=58% female) completed an online survey in May 2020 (DuringCoVID-19). Health measures for this cohort were compared with previously reported data for Wisconsin adolescent athletes (n=5231, age=15.7±1.2, 47% female) collected in 2016–2018 (PreCoVID-19). Main Outcome Measure(s): Demographic information included: sex, grade and sports played. Health assessments included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item (PHQ-9) to identify depression symptoms, the Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale (PFABS) for physical activity, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (PedsQL) for health related quality of life (HRQoL). Univariable comparisons of these variables between groups were made via t-tests or chi-square tests. Means and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each group were estimated by survey weighted ANOVA models. RESULTS: Compared to PreCoVID-19, a larger proportion of the During-CoVID-19 participants reported rates of moderate to severe levels of depression (9.7% vs 32.9%, p&lt;0.001). During-CoVID-19 participants reported 50% lower (worse) PFABS scores (mean:12.2 [95%CI: 11.9, 12.5] vs 24.7 [24.5, 24.9] p&lt;0.001) and lower (worse) PedsQL total scores compared to the PreCoVID-19 participants (78.4 [78.0, 78.8] vs. 90.9 [90.5, 91.3] p&lt;0.001). CONCLUSIONS: During the CoVID-19 pandemic, adolescent athletes reported increased symptoms of depression, decreased physical activity and decreased quality of life compared to adolescent athletes in previous years.

scholarly journals Mental Health of Apprentices during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria and the Effect of Gender, Migration Background, and Work Situation

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 8933
Author(s):  
Rachel Dale ◽  
Teresa O’Rourke ◽  
Elke Humer ◽  
Andrea Jesser ◽  
Paul L. Plener ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Disordered Eating ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Migration Background ◽  
Work Situation ◽  
P Values ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
High Prevalence

This study assessed the mental health of apprentices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria and the effect of gender, migration background, work situation, and work sector. An online survey via REDCap was performed with a sample of 1442 apprentices (female: 53.5%, male: 45.4%, diverse: 1.1%, migration background: 28.4%) from 29 March to 18 May 2021. Indicators of mental health were depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), well-being (WHO-5), disordered eating (EAT-8), and insomnia (ISI-7). There was a high prevalence of clinically relevant depression (cut-offs ≥11 for adolescents, ≥10 for adults: 48.3%), anxiety (cut-offs ≥11 for adolescents, ≥10 for adults: 35.4%), insomnia (cut-off ≥15: 27%), and disordered eating (cut-offs ≥2 for men, ≥3 for women: 50.6%). Linear models revealed that apprentices with female and diverse gender, migration background, and unemployed status showed the poorest scores on all mental health measures (all p-values < 0.05) except disordered eating. These findings emphasize the need for intersectional strategies to reduce and prevent adverse mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for apprentices.

Spreading HOPE

2017 ◽  
pp. 58-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Turner ◽  
Faith Martin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Hope Theory ◽  
Cognitive Set ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Mood Management ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
The Future

Self-management interventions focus on components such as information, medication taking, mood management, and practical strategies for support in daily life. This chapter argues that, in addition to these strategies, fostering hope is important to effective self-management in both physical and mental health. Hope is a cognitive set, focused on the future, and is operationalized as cross-situational goals and behaviors to achieve these goals. A unique intervention, built on positive psychology and hope theory, is described to exemplify the evidence and application of these concepts. The “Help to Overcome Problems Effectively” (HOPE) program’s design, content, and outcomes are provided. Further research is suggested, focusing on exploring hope as a mechanism for change.

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