Mental Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on Affected, Non Affected and Families of the Affected

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 1804-1808
Author(s):  
Arpit Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Novel Virus ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Socioeconomic Crisis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Conflicting Messages

The pandemic of covid 19, which has taken the entire world by storm has not only tested our physical health but also impacted our mental health in ways no one had envisaged! It has lead to a situation of socioeconomic crisis and mental anguish among the general population. The outbreak of a novel virus unknown to the medical fraternity and its explosive spread every day, conflicting messages from the government, lack of infrastructure for treatment, the spread of misinformation on media platforms and an incessant quarantine has to lead to a sense of fear, apprehension, stress, desolation, weariness, frustration and depression among the masses. The imposition of lockdown in the nation not only undermined personal freedom, but it also leads to huge financial losses, unemployment, work and school closure, uncertainty, boredom, stigma which have been major stressors leading to widespread emotional affliction and an increased risk of developing psychiatric illness during the time of the pandemic. People who were already suffering from some form of the psychiatric disorder have been prone to exacerbations due to the pandemic. Individuals living with confirmed or suspected covid 19 cases, frontline workers, unemployed people and people in quarantine are at a higher risk of developing some form of mental illness such as anxiety, insomnia and depression. Resilience and good social support are protective factors against this mental health epidemic that is about to begin. In this article, we reflect upon the impact of covid 19 pandemic and lockdown on the mental health of people in India.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic Communities: A Complex Relationship Without Just Cause

10.2196/22581 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. e22581
Author(s):  
Peter Phiri ◽  
Gayathri Delanerolle ◽  
Ayaat Al-Sudani ◽  
Shanaya Rathod
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Risk ◽  
Social Risk Factors ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Emerging evidence has indicated a negative and disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. Previous studies have already reported that biological and social risk factors increase disease susceptibility, particularly in BAME communities. Despite frontline workers in ethnic minority communities in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service attempting to quell the pandemic, disproportionate numbers of BAME physicians and other health care workers have died of COVID-19. This unprecedented situation highlights ethical and moral implications, which could further augment the impact of the pandemic on their mental health. While the government attempts to mitigate the rate of virus transmission, certain key factors inadvertently augment the negative impact of the pandemic on the mental health and general well-being of BAME communities. This study examined the available literature to explore the association between, and the wider impact of, COVID-19 on BAME communities. Furthermore, this study aims to raise awareness and provide a deeper insight into current scientific discussions.

Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Dimension of Health: A Sensitive Issue to be Addressed at the Earliest

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-166
Author(s):  
Sunil Nepal ◽  
Sudip Nepal ◽  
Chakrakodi S. Shastry ◽  
Sharad Chand ◽  
U.P. Nandakumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
High Stress ◽  
World Health ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

Background: The novel coronavirus disease outbreak of 2019 was declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organization. At present, the virus has spread throughout the world, leading to millions of cases and is further increasing. Objective: The main objective of this study is to review the impact of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the mental health of frontline workers, isolated and quarantined people and the general population. Methods: The relevant articles were extracted from PubMed, Web of Science and ScienceDirect database by using the keywords “Mental health”, “COVID-19”, “Impact of COVID-19”, “Frontline workers”, “Quarantine”, “Isolation”, “Immunity” and “Economy”. The retrieved articles were included in the study based on inclusion criteria to perform the review. All the selected scientific articles were critically reviewed and the information is summarized in this narrative review. Results: The majority of the studies stated that frontline health workers were at an increased risk of depression. The infected, suspects and quarantined people were reported with high stress, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts. The pandemic has devastated the world’s economy, which has severely impacted global mental health. Conclusion: Mental health should be taken into account, and necessary interventional initiatives need to be considered both by the health authorities and the government to minimize the adversity of the consequences. The pandemic may disappear with the discovery of new vaccines or medications, but its negative impact on mental health may persist, particularly among vulnerable populations. Thus, mental health must be a matter of concern in the present scenario.

scholarly journals Exploring the impact of COVID-19 and restrictions to daily living as a result of social distancing within veterans with pre-existing mental health difficulties

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Murphy ◽  
C Williamson ◽  
J Baumann ◽  
W Busuttil ◽  
N T Fear
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Mental Health Difficulties ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionData are emerging showing the adverse consequences on mental health of the general public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the needs of veterans with pre-existing mental health difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsData were collected through a cross-sectional online survey from a randomly selected sample (n=1092) of military veterans who have sought help for mental health difficulties from a veteran-specific UK-based charity. The response rate was 25.2% (n=275). Participants were asked to complete a range of standardised mental health outcomes (post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, common mental health difficulties (CMDs): 12-Item General Health Questionnaire, difficulties with anger: 5-Item Dimensions of Anger Reactions—Revised and alcohol misuse: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and endorse a list of potential stressors related to changes to daily life resulting from COVID-19. Regression analyses were fitted to explore predictors of mental health severity.ResultsIt was observed that symptoms of common mental disorder and PTSD (69.3% and 65.0%, respectively) were the most commonly reported to have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Lack of social support and reporting increasing numbers of stressors related to COVID-19 were consistently associated with increasing severity of a range of mental health difficulties.ConclusionsOur findings suggest veterans who had pre-existing mental health difficulties prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 may be at increased risk of experiencing CMDs as a result of the pandemic. Intervening to improve levels of social support and offering practical guidance to better manage any additional stressors relating to the pandemic may provide strategies to help reduce the burden of mental health symptoms.

scholarly journals Suicidal Ideation and Predictors of Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Eswatini: A Population-Based Household Telephone Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 6700
Author(s):  
Mduduzi Colani Shongwe ◽  
Song-Lih Huang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Telephone Survey ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Psychological Distress Scale ◽  
The Government ◽  
Distress Scale

The unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic can induce psychological distress in individuals. We investigated perceived stressors, prevalence of psychological distress and suicidal ideation, and predictors of psychological distress among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini. This study was a cross-sectional, population-based household telephone survey of 993 conveniently sampled adults (18+ years) from all the four administrative regions of Eswatini. Data were collected between 9 June and 18 July 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the country was under a partial lockdown. COVID-19-related psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6-item Psychological Distress Scale (K6). We performed weighted modified Poisson regression analyses to identify significant predictors of moderate/severe psychological distress (K6 scores: ≥5). The weighted prevalences of moderate (K6 scores: 5–12) and severe psychological distress (K6 scores: ≥13) were 41.7% and 5.4%, respectively. Participants reported several perceived COVID-19-related stressors, including worries and fears of the contagion-specific death, serious need for food and money, and concerns about loss of income or business. The weighted prevalence of suicidal ideation was 1.5%. Statistically significant predictors of increased risk for moderate/severe psychological distress included living in the Hhohho and Manzini regions; feeling not well informed about COVID-19; feeling lonely; having received COVID-19 food or financial relief from the government; feeling burdened by the lockdown; being married; and being youth (18–24 years). The results call for the government to urgently augment the provision of mental health services during the pandemic. Mental health practitioners and programs may use several stressors and risk factors identified in this study to inform interventions and government policies aimed at reducing psychological distress induced by the pandemic.

scholarly journals Cross sectional analysis of depression and stress in medical students

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler S. Jones ◽  
Deborah Rupert
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Sectional Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Medical student wellbeing is a topic of growing concern. Medical students experience high levels of stress and burnout and are at increased risk for depression and suicidal ideation compared to the general population. Even more concerning, medical students are disproportionately less likely to seek help for their mental health issues. Identifying and preventing these problems early can have lasting positive consequences over the course of a physician’s lifetime. We implemented a wellness program at our medical school in the spring of 2016 with the goals of decreasing burnout and depression, heightening awareness of mental health issues, and encouraging help-seeking behaviors. To analyze the impact of our program, we have implemented a quality assurance survey. Here we report lifestyle factors associated with positive screens for depression from that data and propose institutional initiatives that can be spearheaded by medical students for medical students to impact positive change.

scholarly journals Understanding Burnout in Indian Housewives Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charvi Pareek ◽  
Nandani Agarwal ◽  
Yash Jain
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Family Relations ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Personal Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

COVID-19 Pandemic has brought the world underwaters. All over the world, people were affected. The focus during this period was mostly on patients and frontline workers, with some attention also towards working adults. One cohort that has not gained much light during this pandemic is of housewives. Housewives had to manage household chores along with managing family relations – especially in India, where societal expectations lie on the female to provide family members with care and manage the household. Dealing with uncertainty, decreased availability of personal space, increased presence of and interaction with people in the household due to work from home scenarios, shifting to the online world and adapting to the change, economic disturbances, absence of domestic help, managing parental responsibility, increased stress about one’s own and family members’ health and lack of social interaction have contributed to their inconvenience. Existing evidence supports that housewives have been experiencing burnout in their homes. This qualitative study was conducted to see how the added pressure of COVID – 19 and social isolation has affected housewives mentally, leading to burnout. This narrative study includes participants of Indian origin, between the ages of 34 to 50 years. Participants were shortlisted on the basis of their scores obtained on the COVID-19 Burnout Scale, designed by Murat Yıldırım and Fatma Solmaz. The themes generated through this research study are related to understanding the impact of burnout on the mental health of housewives along the areas of physical health, financial well-being, digitization, uncertainty regarding COVID-19, parental responsibilities, social & emotional health, relationship management, and coping mechanisms. The findings of this study suggest that the mental health of housewives has significantly worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic due to constant exposure to certain stressors.

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers in different regions of the world

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S258-S258
Author(s):  
Mahfuja Islam ◽  
Philip George ◽  
Sindhu Sankaran ◽  
Janet Leu Su Hui ◽  
Tzun Kit
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

AimsThe global health system is facing a serious challenge after the recent outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus infection which was first identified in Wuhan, China in November 2019 and declared as a pandemic in March 2020 by WHO. There is a wide consensus that this pandemic has negative psychosocial consequences as well as unforeseeable provision of mental health care services and just not on physical health alone. The aim of this research study is to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and to identify the sociodemographic variables with the main attributable factors associated with the psychological distress among healthcare workers and suggestions on how to reduce the impact on the mental health of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in different regions of the world.MethodWe performed a cross-sectional study from September-November 2020. We used a self-administered survey tool which was distributed electronically to healthcare workers across the globe. The data were stored on an online database with password protected devices where survey responses were restricted to investigators exclusively.Data collected were: 1) Socio-demographic data (age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, religion, role in the healthcare, region of practice); 2) Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI) questionnaire which contains 22 standardized items. This is a subjective assessment to score the degree of psychological well-being by focusing on 6 domains: depression; anxiety; positive-well-being; self-control; vitality and general health; 3) Subjective assessment from respondents of the main attributable factors causing psychological distress and suggested methods to help reduce the impact on mental health on health care workers.ResultMajority out of the 217 respondents were from a younger age group; females and married/domestic partnership, mainly from Western Pacific Region, South East Asian and the African Region. More than half the respondents were moderate-severely psychologically distressed and the three main attributable factors causing psychological distress were: fear of family/friends contracting COVID-19 followed by lack of PPE and discomfort caused by wearing PPE for long hours. Respondents suggested that the distress would be reduced if: more resources were provided in hospital; protocols and guidelines were implemented and counselling facilities with recreational activities were available to frontline workers.ConclusionThis study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of healthcare workers and more support or strategies need to come in place to protect frontline workers at the time of crises.

The impact of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) on the health and well-being of employees: what organisations can do to mitigate the risks and improve outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 397
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Brook ◽  
Melanie Freeman ◽  
Graeme Ditchburn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Perceived Support ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Code Of Practice ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Levels Of Support ◽  
Health And Well Being

Concerns about the increased risk to mental health in fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers in the construction and resources industries led to increased public and government scrutiny, resulting in Western Australia’s adoption of a code of practice. In general, research has found that a higher incidence of psychological distress in FIFO workers has resulted from high compression rosters and work–family conflict, as well as feelings of isolation. Risk controls, such as perceived levels of support, have been found to be significantly related to improved mental health and organisational outcomes. Organisations need to address the non-financial needs of their workers and look to develop their perceived support, job satisfaction and adjustment to the FIFO lifestyle. This paper outlines practical risk controls and interventions organisations can take to improve psychological and organisational outcomes.

scholarly journals The Right to Education and ICT during COVID-19: An International Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9091
Author(s):  
Luis Miguel Lázaro Lorente ◽  
Ana Ancheta Arrabal ◽  
Cristina Pulido-Montes
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

There is a lack of concluding evidence among epidemiologists and public health specialists about how school closures reduce the spread of COVID-19. Herein, we attend to the generalization of this action throughout the world, specifically in its quest to reduce mortality and avoid infections. Considering the impact on the right to education from a global perspective, this article discusses how COVID-19 has exacerbated inequalities and pre-existing problems in education systems around the world. Therefore, the institutional responses to guaranteeing remote continuity of the teaching–learning process during this educational crisis was compared regionally through international databases. Three categories of analysis were established: infrastructure and equipment, both basic and computer-based, as well as internet access of schools; preparation and means of teachers to develop distance learning; and implemented measures and resources to continue educational processes. The results showed an uneven capacity in terms of response and preparation to face the learning losses derived from school closure, both in low-income regions and within middle- and high-income countries. We concluded that it is essential to articulate inclusive educational policies that support strengthening the government response capacity, especially in low-income countries, to address the sustainability of education.

scholarly journals Women's Mental Health in the Time of Covid-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Thibaut ◽  
Patricia J. M. van Wijngaarden-Cremers
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Subject ◽  
At Home

Even if the fatality rate has been twice higher for men than for women, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected women more than men, both as frontline workers and at home. The aim of our article was to analyze the differences observed in mental health and violence between men and women in the COVID outbreak. For this purpose, we have used all papers available in PubMed between January and July 2020 as well as data from non-governmental associations. We have thus successively analyzed the situation of pregnancy during the pandemic; the specific psychological and psychiatric risks faced by women both as patients and as workers in the health sector, the increased risk of violence against women at home and at workplace and, finally the risk run by children within their families. In conclusion, research on the subject of mental health issues during the Covid-19 pandemic is still scarce, especially in women. We hope that this pandemic will help to recognize the major role of women at home and at the workplace.

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