COVID-19 Pandemic: Demographic Predictors of Self-Isolation or Self-Quarantine and Impact of Isolation and Quarantine on Perceived Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

Abstract

Introduction: With the sudden onset and global dispersal of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, many nations including Canada attempted to reduce spread of the resultant COVID-19 syndrome with self-isolation and quarantine, while seeking a cure or vaccine for this disease. Understanding impacts of self-isolation and self-quarantine on stress, anxiety, and depression will help us to mitigate these issues through appropriate development of mental health services.Methods: The sample was drawn from individuals who self-subscribed to Text4Hope, a service that delivers text messages based on a cognitive behavioral therapy framework. Text4Hope was developed to support Albertans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subscribers were asked for demographic information and if they had to self-isolate or self-quarantine during the pandemic via a survey link. Mental health was assessed using the validated instruments: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item scale (GAD-7), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square test results were derived using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version-26.Results: 6,041 of 32,805 Text4Hope subscribers (18.4%) completed the survey. Of these respondents, 19.2% had self-isolated or self-quarantined in Alberta as of March 31, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-hoc analysis using adjusted residuals suggested that individuals aged 60 years of age or older, and retirees had a higher likelihood of self-isolation or self-quarantine, compared to respondents with other age or employment characteristics. One-week prevalence rates for self-reported measures of moderate to high stress, likely Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and likely Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) were 84.9, 46.7, and 41.4%, respectively. Respondents who had to self-isolate or self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly more likely to present with moderate to high stress, significant anxiety symptomatology, and significant depressive symptomatology.Conclusions: Older age and employment status were significantly associated with the likelihood of self-isolation or self-quarantine. We found elevated self-reported levels of anxiety and depression associated with self-reported COVID-19 pandemic-related self-isolation and self-quarantine activity. These findings have mental health implications both during and after the pandemic and demonstrate the need for greater focus on psychological complications of self-isolation and self-quarantine, and development of optimal ways to manage these pandemic consequences.

Psychological Distress and Trust in University Management Among International Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Furthermore, we found that male and married individuals are more likely to comply with quarantine guidelines than female, unmarried, or students of African origin. This finding is in line with those presented in the prior literature in which researchers showed that demographic characteristics may predict self-isolation behavior (Commodari and La Rosa, 2020;Nkire et al, 2021). Our study also found that essential knowledge about the disease is positively associated with self-quarantine.…”

Prevalence and Correlates of Likely Major Depressive Disorder among the Adult Population in Ghana during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The study was a cross-sectional survey primarily aimed at collecting data on likely major depressive disorder and its relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey included demographic, social, clinical and COVID-19-related variables and was adapted from survey questions used in Canada to gather baseline data from Text4Hope (a supportive text message program) subscribers during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 10 , 17 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Major depressive disorder symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) [ 45 ].…”

“…The government of Ghana could adopt for the population mental health interventions such as Text4Hope, launched in Alberta, Canada during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which effectively reduced depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in subscribers [ 41 , 74 , 75 , 76 ]. Supportive text message programs are cost-effective, geographic location independent, are free to the end user and do not require expensive data plans, can reach thousands of people simultaneously and have been used to support residents of Alberta, Canada in managing stress, anxiety and depression [ 44 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. A similar program could serve as a useful tool in Ghana and other low- and middle-income as well as high-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and also during natural disasters and other public health emergencies.…”

Phenome-wide association of 1809 phenotypes and COVID-19 disease progression in the Veterans Health Administration Million Veteran Program

“…We also observed that mental health conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol, tobacco and substance-use disorder, and sense diseases were associated with a lower risk of COVID-19. It is possible that those with these conditions were less likely to initiate tests for SARS-CoV-2, had difficulty reporting symptoms thus not captured as an infected person, or are more likely to self-isolate and thereby minimizing potential exposure [ 50 ]. However, due to the nature of our study design we cannot infer causality and only speculate the nature of the observed association.…”