Learning from previous disasters: Potential pitfalls of epidemiological psychosocial research in the COVID-19 environment

Bell, Caroline; Beaglehole, Ben; Bell, Romana; Tanveer, Sandila; Sulaiman-Hill, Cheryl M. R.; Boden, Joseph M.; Porter, Richard

doi:10.1177/0004867421998783

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…These comparisons broadly support the representativeness of the sample of New Zealand caregivers responding in the current research. Further, commentaries have highlighted a reliance on post-pandemic assessments as a key limitation of observational research methods assessing the psychosocial health impacts of COVID-19 ( Bell et al, 2021 ). The availability of longitudinal assessments of depression and anxiety in the 2018 and 2020 HWR surveys enabled the current study to provide context to cross-sectional associations between conditions of care and mental health outcomes following the initial COVID-19 restrictions in New Zealand, and represent a significant methodological step forward in understanding the impacts of components of the care role in the post-pandemic period, enabling differentiation of factors associated with existing vs increasing psychological symptoms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Cohort Study of Depression and Anxiety Among Older Informal Caregivers Following the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Aotearoa New Zealand

2022

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Objectives To assess the impact of providing care and conditions of care on psychological wellbeing among older informal caregivers following the initial period of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods Data were from population-based cohorts of older adults participating in the 2020 Health, Work and Retirement longitudinal survey ( n = 3839, 17.4% informal caregivers). Changes in symptoms of depression and anxiety over 2018–2020 surveys associated with sociodemographic factors, caregiving, cohabitation with the care recipient, assistance provided with activities of daily living, support in providing care, and opportunity cost of care were assessed. Results Increased depression, but not anxiety, was associated with providing informal care. Among caregivers, lower living standards and cohabitation were associated with increased depression. Lower living standards, unemployment, and lower help from friend/family networks were associated with increased anxiety. Discussion Economic hardship and social capital provide targets for supporting psychological wellbeing of older caregivers during periods of pandemic restrictions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Cohort Study of Depression and Anxiety Among Older Informal Caregivers Following the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Aotearoa New Zealand

2022

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“…Many people worldwide are experiencing various changes and difficulties in a short period of time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bell et al 34 insisted that it is important to understand the COVID-19 pandemic from a disaster perspective as well as its psychological implications. Indeed, a number of papers have reported that aside from the number of COVID-19 cases during the pandemic, a variety of people have also suffered psychological difficulties such as fear, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Adolescent Students in Daegu, Korea

et al. 2021

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Background In February 2020, as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread rapidly in Daegu, South Korea, students in that region experienced many emotional difficulties. In this study, we analyzed the stress and emotional crisis experienced by students during the COVID-19 pandemic, its causative factors, and the factors that affect negative emotions. Methods We identified the demographic information related to the experiences of unbearable stress and emotional crisis and their causal factors at three points in time: before the pandemic, during its peak, and at the time of the survey (2–3 months after the peak). In addition, we analyzed the factors related to depression and anxiety experienced by students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 and the Korean version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 was used to assess for depressive and anxiety symptoms in the subject students, respectively. Results A total of 8,177 students participated in the analysis, with 4,072 boys (49.8%), 4,105 girls (50.2%), and 4,463 middle school students (54.6%) and 3,177 high school students (45.4%). The percentage of students who experienced unbearable stress was 9% before the COVID-19 pandemic, increased to 16% at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, then decreased to 12.7% at the time of the survey. Stress was experienced more by girls (18.1% versus 13.8% in boys; χ 2 = 28.159, P < 0.001) and high school students (19.0% versus 13.5% in middle school students; χ 2 = 45.437, P < 0.001). Overall, 7.6% experienced emotional crises during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was more prevalent in girls (10.1% versus 5.2% in boys; χ 2 = 71.025, P < 0.001) and in high school students (8.8% versus 6.7% in middle school students; χ 2 = 12.996, P < 0.001). Depression and anxiety was seen in 19.8% and 12.3% of students during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. The risk factors for depression and anxiety included unbearable stress before the COVID-19 pandemic ( P < 0.001), mental health ( P = 0.044), and age ( P = 0.040), whereas resilience was identified as a protective factor for depression and anxiety ( P = 0.001). Conclusion Students in Daegu experienced lots of mental difficulties since the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be necessary to improve stress management and resilience to improve students' mental health in disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“…4 When examining the psychosocial impacts in a pandemic context, researchers experience key challenges not only with the choice of study design and measures but also in providing a multicultural perspective. 5 In this respect, researchers have obtained data using convenience 6 7 or representative sampling 8 by employing either cross-sectional 8 or longitudinal 7 9 design. Those studies have been carried out either on the general population [6][7][8] or on potentially vulnerable populations (such as the health workforce [10][11][12] or those with pre-existing risk factors such as having a previous history of mental disorders 9 13 14 ).…”

Section: Strengths and Limitations Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When examining the psychosocial impacts in a pandemic context, researchers experience key challenges not only with the choice of study design and measures but also in providing a multicultural perspective 5. In this respect, researchers have obtained data using convenience6 7 or representative sampling8 by employing either cross-sectional8 or longitudinal7 9 design.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: an international cross-sectional study protocol

et al. 2023

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IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic exposed people to significant and prolonged stress. The psychosocial impacts of the pandemic have been well recognised and reported in high-income countries (HICs) but it is important to understand the unique challenges posed by COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where limited international comparisons have been undertaken. This protocol was therefore devised to study the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in seven LMICs using scales that had been designed for or translated for this purpose.Methods and analysisThis cross-sectional study uses an online survey to administer a novel COVID Psychosocial Impacts Scale (CPIS) alongside established measures of psychological distress, post-traumatic stress, well-being and post-traumatic growth in the appropriate language. Participants will include adults aged 18 years and above, recruited from Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia and Turkey, with a pragmatic target sample size of 500 in each country.Data will be analysed descriptively on sociodemographic and study variables. In addition, CPIS will be analysed psychometrically (for reliability and validity) to assess the suitability of use in a given context. Finally, within-subjects and between-subjects analyses will be carried out using multi-level mixed-effect models to examine associations between key sociodemographic and study variables.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was granted by the Human Ethics Committee, University of Otago, New Zealand (Ref. No. 21/102). In addition, international collaborators obtained local authorisation or ethical approval in their respective host universities before data collection commenced.Participants will give informed consent before taking part. Data will be collected and stored securely on the University of Otago, New Zealand Qualtrics platform using an auto-generated non-identifiable letter-number string. Data will be available on reasonable request. Findings will be disseminated by publications in scientific journals and/or conference presentations.Trial registration numberNCT05052333.

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Learning from previous disasters: Potential pitfalls of epidemiological psychosocial research in the COVID-19 environment

Cited by 6 publications

References 8 publications

Longitudinal Cohort Study of Depression and Anxiety Among Older Informal Caregivers Following the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Aotearoa New Zealand

Longitudinal Cohort Study of Depression and Anxiety Among Older Informal Caregivers Following the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Aotearoa New Zealand

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Adolescent Students in Daegu, Korea

Examining the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: an international cross-sectional study protocol

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