Psychosocial and Behavioral Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Indian Population: Protocol for a Cross-sectional Study (Preprint)

Abstract

UNSTRUCTURED From March to June in 2020, most of the world underwent social isolation, mandated quarantine, or lockdown to prevent the excessive spread and eventual casualties from COVID-19. Such isolation meant a dramatic change from routine livelihood. Though the isolation was essential to contain the disease spread, we argue that the drastic change from daily life must have led to several psychological issues. There is a lack of enough evidence and research in the literature about the mental health of the Indian population. This also leads to a lack of awareness of symptoms and presentations of different disorders of mental health in the general public. Therefore, we chose this target population to help us recognize the culture-specific and general effects of lockdown and social isolation on their psyche. The present study has both qualitative and quantitative arms. The qualitative arms of this study aim to analyze the psychosocial and behavioral effects of social isolation and mandated quarantine or lockdown, along with assessing the amount of awareness and knowledge regarding the disease spectrum caused by COVID-19 in the Indian population. The quantitative arm of the study aims to examine the extent of association between psychosocial/behavioral effects and various demographic factors in the said target population, viz. age, sex, etc. The main purpose of the study is to establish the present status of mental health in the general Indian population and the direct effects of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.