Canadian public health officials responded to the unprecedented global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by invoking public health measures ranging from extreme (e.g., quarantine) to lighter (e.g., social distancing) measures. Although necessary to mitigate disease spread, the psychological impact of social distancing and isolation is unknown (Wang et al., 2020). The impetus of this study were calls for research to compare the psychological effects of extreme and lighter measures (see Brooks et al., 2020), and our purpose was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on psychological distress to determine whether negative effects were present during the initial stages of social distancing/isolation measures. In this study, questionnaire data measuring satisfaction with life, social cohesion, psychological distress, and perceptions of risk was collected from 1381 Canadians during the early days of intense public health measures (31 March through 15 April 2020). Results suggest that even short-term social distancing practices are associated with increased psychological distress, including elevated levels of overall distress, such as panic, emotional disturbances, and depression. These results are noteworthy for several reasons: the timing of the distress, the population under investigation, and the fact that the applied mitigation was “lighter” than full quarantines previously studied. These findings suggest that after only a short period of time, less restrictive public health measures can lead to psychological distress. These results have major significance for government officials in future public health crisis as they judiciously weigh the costs and benefits of applying such measures with various public health guidelines discussed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems have been under extreme levels of stress due to increases in patient distress and patient deaths. While additional research and public health funding initiatives can alleviate these systemic issues, it is also important to consider the ongoing mental health and well-being of professionals working in healthcare. By surveying healthcare workers working in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that there was an elevated level of depressive symptomatology in that population. We also found that when employees were provided with accurate and timely information about the pandemic, and additional protective measures in the workplace, they were less likely to report negative effects on well-being. We recommend that healthcare employers take these steps, as well as providing targeted mental health interventions, in order to maintain the mental health of their employees, which in turn will provide better healthcare at the population level.
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