Psychological distress, low-income, and socio-economic vulnerability in the COVID-19 pandemic

Santana, Carmen; Manfrinato, Catarina Vezetiv; Souza, Pedro Marconi Aragão De; Marino, Aluízio; Condé, Vitória Ferreira; Stedefeldt, Elke; Tomita, Luciana Yuki; Franco, Maria do Carmo Pinho

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2021.08.016

Cited by 28 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Although previous research has often highlighted the protective effect of employment [ 6 , 9 ], we found that employment had no effect on our participants’ mental distress, possibly because most of the participants were unmarried (65.6%) but had to take care of at least one child (96.2%). With their children at home during the pandemic, these mothers may have chosen to live mainly on CSSA instead of engaging in employment.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

“…The literature has repeatedly emphasized the factor of financial difficulties in cross-national settings and diverse target group samples. Worsening finances, along with their associated causes and outcomes, such as unemployment, lower income, lower savings, and housing insecurity, led to a higher risk of mental distress [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], highlighting the importance of providing mental health initiatives and financial interventions together. Accordingly, measures to enhance the social security system’s response to COVID became a major strategy to alleviate the pandemic’s financial difficulties and their impacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Employment status has also been found to be a significant variable associated with mental distress in different countries, with employment being a protective factor against stressful situations [ 6 , 9 ]. This protective effect requires further exploration in the context of women on CSSA, who often act as informal caregivers and sometimes work in part-time or casual positions in the labor market.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mental Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study of Women Receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance in Hong Kong

Cui

Cheung

Huang³

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Welfare recipients were often considered the least deserving of COVID-related support. Despite the recent attention paid to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, few studies have explored the mental distress experienced by welfare recipients. This cross-sectional study on female Comprehensive Social Security Allowance recipients in Hong Kong aimed to explore their level of mental distress and its association with a range of risk factors specific to welfare recipients. Hence, 316 valid cases from a local community center responded to our online survey. We found that 52.3%, 23.4%, and 78% of the participants showed moderate to extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, respectively. A higher level of mental distress was associated with having a psychiatric diagnosis, poorer social, and greater concerns over disciplining children, the living environment, daily expenses and being infected by COVID-19. Unexpectedly, being married, having a permanent residence, and having a job were not significant protective factors for this group. The models explained 45.5%, 44.6%, and 52.5% of the overall variance in the level of depression, anxiety, and stress (p < 0.01), respectively. Our findings have important implications for supporting female welfare recipients during a public health crisis and may help frontline staff and professionals provide prompt assistance to this group in need.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mental Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study of Women Receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance in Hong Kong

Cui

Cheung

Huang³

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…Other authors have reported employment as a protective factor against mental health threats in the context of COVID pandemic in socially vulnerable communities in São Paulo, Brasil. On the other hand, food insecurity and lower monthly income are associated with a higher risk of psychological distress 25 . This financial aspect is especially significant in vulnerable communities, where people have little possibility of not working or working from home, given the limited life savings and the characteristics of their work, which typically does not allow telework (e.g., cleaning & other services, security, manual labor).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What did you do to stay ‘sane’ during the pandemic? A qualitative study to identify self-care mental health strategies utilized in a socially vulnerable population

Fischer

Bozza²,

Victorino³

et al. 2022

Gates Open Res

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BackgroundMental health has deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic. These impacts are likely to be more severe in socially vulnerable communities. Previous research has identified useful self-help strategies that individuals may use to maintain and improve mental health. However, these studies have typically ignored economically and socially marginalized communities and have used researcher pre-defined practices. Little is known what activities or actions members of poor urban communities from low and middle income countries may utilize to take care of their mental health. MethodsDuring March and April 2021, we conducted open-ended interviews with 317 community members in Complexo de Favelas da Maré, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, one of the largest slum areas in South America. Individuals were interviewed in selected public spaces to provide a representative sample of the wider area. Our sample consisted of 178 (56.1%) cis women, 133 (41.9%) cis men, 3 (0.9%) trans men, and 3 (0.9%) classified themselves as other. The majority of participants had incomplete middle school or less (54.2%) and were between 30 and 60 years (54.1%). ResultsUsing thematic analysis, we identified eight major themes in the responses. The most common themes that emerged were work, leisure activities (including watching TV & physical exercise) and religion/prayer. These findings did not clearly align with previous mental health recommendations. Some results were noteworthy by their absence, e.g., cost-effective mental health practices such as yoga, meditation or mindfulness were not mentioned. Only 4 individuals reported consulting mental health professionals during the pandemic. ConclusionsOur findings highlight the need for better public health campaigns that disseminate information for effective mental health practices during acute crises, especially for communities that are most vulnerable during public health crises.

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“…Accordingly, about 87% of students have their own devices which can be used for their education. During the pandemic, students' academic performance might be affected by racial, economic, and resource differences [36]. Lack of digital devices during the lockdown of COVID-19 limited the continuation of online education.…”

Section: Devices Used For Online Education and Issues When Accessing ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comprehensive Overview of Education during Three COVID-19 Pandemic Periods: Impact on Engineering Students in Sri Lanka

et al. 2022

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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the education system in Sri Lanka, similar to many countries in the world. As a result, the mode of education shifted from conventional face-to-face classes to online mode. The main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the changes to the educational system due to the COVID-19 pandemic among engineering undergraduates of Sri Lanka over three identified pandemic periods. Quantitative descriptive analysis was used together with chi-square statistics to answer the research questions using the data collected through a google survey from engineering undergraduates in Sri Lanka. According to the results, students’ attendance in online classes has improved over time compared to the initial pandemic period. Nearly 50% of students’ family income has been impacted, either stopped or reduced due to the pandemic. Most students have issues regarding computing devices, internet connectivity, and the home environment. According to the chi-square statistics results, few of these issues had a statistically significant relationship between the family income; lower the income, higher the negative impact on students. More than half of the students felt isolated when studying at home during the pandemic. Still, more than 50% of students agreed that lecturers were well prepared to guide and deliver lessons remotely. The overall recommendations of the study are implementing workshops, training on new technologies, awareness programs for educational stakeholders, providing incentives to purchase digital devices, and improving internet connectivity to improve the new standard education system of Sri Lanka.

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Psychological distress, low-income, and socio-economic vulnerability in the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 28 publications

References 17 publications

Mental Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study of Women Receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance in Hong Kong

Mental Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study of Women Receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance in Hong Kong

What did you do to stay ‘sane’ during the pandemic? A qualitative study to identify self-care mental health strategies utilized in a socially vulnerable population

A Comprehensive Overview of Education during Three COVID-19 Pandemic Periods: Impact on Engineering Students in Sri Lanka

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