Mental Health Survey of Social Entrepreneurs During COVID-19: A Study From Pakistan

Abstract

BackgroundCOVID-19 is widely considered one of the worst pandemics in history, resulting in worldwide lockdowns, social isolation, unemployment, and economic recession. With the prolongation of COVID-19, numerous people experience stress, depression, and other mental health challenges. Recently, several studies have been documented in the literature on mental health issues among students (related to medical or other fields), teachers, medical personnel, and nurses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, social entrepreneurs (SEs) have received insufficient attention. This study aims to conduct an online survey in Pakistan's five major cities to investigate more about the mental health status of social entrepreneurs.Materials and MethodsAn online survey which included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) was employed to collect data. The data analyses were carried out employing descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and multiple regression analyses.ResultsA total of 840 social entrepreneurs from Pakistan participated in the survey. Among these, 366 (43.6%) were female and 474 (56.4%) were male. The findings revealed that 709 (84%) social entrepreneurs were suffering from depression symptoms, and 600 (80%) were suffering from anxiety symptoms. The majority of social entrepreneurs with depression (N = 546) and anxiety (N = 567) had mild and moderate stages. In addition, optional open-ended questions were asked from SE participants that help to understand their perception and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionThe study concluded that several SEs in major cities of Pakistan were experiencing depression and anxiety symptoms. Based on data analysis, male SEs were highly suffering from depression and anxiety than female SEs. Limited resources and changes in customers' behavior were one of the major problems that lead SEs to depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 epidemic. In addition, SEs revealed that the lack of a social business execution policy is the most distressing factor for them. Therefore, a local government must take rigorous precautionary measures to prevent mental health issues among social entrepreneurs. Moreover, the Government of Pakistan needs to adopt supportive policies to assist social entrepreneurs in stressful circumstances.

Sustainable Development Goals: Therapeutic Entrepreneurship and Mental Health Conditions

“…al., (2009 associated dyslexia (learning disability) with more original thinking, while White and Shah (2011) found a link between ADHD and sensation-seeking or excitement-seeking (in pursued of different sensational feelings such as experience-seeking, thrill-seeking, adventureseeking, disinhibition and boredom susceptibility). Some other studies established a link between bipolar disorder with perseverance and autism with pattern identification (Hussain & Li, 2022).…”

Government support to Pakistani women entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Strict lockdowns and social isolation cause a massive financial shock which pushed governments to provide unusual financial assistance for employment, livelihoods, damaged enterprises, and entrepreneurial ventures (Chaves and Fedriani, 2020). Additionally, COVID-19 adversely affected the economic situation, especially, caused market recession (Nikbin et al , 2021), mental health issues (Hussain and Li, 2022b), and unpaid social work (Ratten, 2020). Scholars also concerned about the situation of women entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic (Mustafa et al , 2021; Salman et al , 2022).…”