Case study: Assessment of Psychosocial impact in times of COVID-19
Mental Health and COVID-19 pandemic is turning out to be a major stressor for most of humanity.
Introduction
According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began. On March 11, WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic and it is now affecting many countries globally.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the fear of isolation has increased the mental health disaster around the globe. Constantly worrying about these things have created an eruption of anxiety in our body, which directly affects our mental and physical health. Anxiety and stress can also affect our immune system, which can place everyone in a more vulnerable position when dealing with an infectious disease. COVID-19 brought about the most unprecedented public health and socio-economic crisis in our lifetime.
What is Quarantine?
Quarantine is defined as the separation of people who have been exposed to a contagious disease to ascertain whether they become sick, thereby reducing the risk of them infecting others. Isolation, in contrast, is where a person diagnosed to have a contagious disease is separated from the general population to avoid transmission of the disease to healthy people. COVID-19 brought about the most unprecedented public health and socio-economic crisis in our lifetime.
The widespread social and economic disruption of the pandemic has produced a psychosocial impact unheard of in modern times. All these have been further fuelled by information overloads of new generation media platforms that have relentlessly spread a mix of accurate as well as inaccurate information and even conspiracy theories which in turn have had a psychological impact on the community.
Everything you want to know about Mental Health
According to the WHO “Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and can make a contribution to his or her community.” WHO stresses that mental health is “more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities.” Peak mental health is about not only avoiding active conditions but also looking after ongoing wellness and happiness.
Mental health can affect our daily living, relationships, and physical health depends on the level of stress or anxiety a person possessed.
Looking after mental health can preserve a person’s ability to enjoy life. Doing this involves reaching a balance between life activities, responsibilities, and efforts to achieve psychological resilience.
M
ental Health and COVID-19 pandemic is turning out to be a major stressor for most of humanity. Never has such an event affected so many individuals all across the globe. Mental health issues following the COVID-19 pandemic stem from normal people being exposed to an extraordinary situation. This led to the rise of mental health issues like anxiety, depression, biological effects like sleep, appetite disturbances as well as severe mental illness and substance misuse. People with pre-existing mental illness, people living alone, and families of those who have died in the COVID-19 pandemic or who have exposed to COVID-19 and have been kept in isolation for days may belong to this group. And also the long hours of working in potentially dangerous situations make them particularly vulnerable. The mental health effects during a pandemic are significant to be taken care of, especially in adults. Feelings of isolation, depression, anxiety, and other emotional or financial stresses are known to raise the risk of suicide. People may be more likely to experience these feelings during a crisis like a pandemic. Young people need support in three life now more than ever. and the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 has thus been far-reaching. All these have thrown an unprecedented challenge to mental health care across the globe. Caring for our mental health and seeking support when we are feeling overwhelmed has always been important. These aspects have become even more critical at a time when the pandemic has affected millions, globally.
How are people reacting to the outbreak of COVID-19?
Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. The first response to the pandemic has been fear and imminent danger. Fears have ranged from those based on facts to unfounded fears based on information/misinformation circulating in the media, particularly social media. The What to do? What not to do? Questions are near-universal and give rise to worry and fear. Each of us responds differently to the barrage of information from global and local sources. This can lead to those who are the “worried well”, those who develop distressful psychological symptoms and coping with stress, and those who develop a mental disorder. The fears of contracting the illness are also frequent. They range from misinterpreting every fever or cough as a COVID-19 infection, wanting a test done for reassurance even though there are strict guidelines for testing, to hoarding medications despite there not being indications for their generalized use. Apart from the advisories regarding handwashing, disinfecting groceries or any item that came from outside, what surfaces need disinfection, unending process of sanitizing hands, having doubts about whether or not to use a mask, what type of mask, what distances to maintain? There are also real worries of job losses and economic slowdown during and following the pandemic. The list is endless and leads to a cycle of concern, worry, and distress.
According to the study, nearly all of the people are suffering from the outbreak to say they have been more anxious or depressed since the measures were announced, very few are accepting, and the smaller proportion of the people are resisting as they believe its a conspiracy theory and the virus won't affect them at any cost.
Responses to social distancing and lockdown
The social distancing and lockdown have also led to several changes in day-to-day activities, redistribution of home chores, extensive working from home, and greater time spent with those living together. Notwithstanding the importance of social distancing (although many prefer to use the term physical distancing), such a requirement has meant long separation from families (for those working away from their hometowns), financial stress, and interpersonal strain. Reactions can range from boredom and moodiness to anger, irritation, and frustration. Persons not only have to deal with the consequences of infection but also have to deal with measures taken to contain the infection like quarantines, social distancing, and lockdowns.
People across the world may be worried or anxious about friends and relatives who are living in or visiting areas where COVID-19 is spreading. Some people are worried about getting the disease from these people. Fear and anxiety can lead to social stigma, for example, toward people who live in certain parts of the world, people who have travelled internationally, people who were in quarantine, or healthcare professionals.
What is social connectedness? Why is it important?
Humans have a basic need for human contact, especially during times of stress. Being socially connected with others is one of the most powerful social and psychological boosts most humans get. Given the new social guidelines to combat the spread of COVID-19, finding and maintaining friendships may be difficult in the months ahead.
The physical isolation can lead to various concerns like changes in blood pressure, the decline in cognitive health (especially in the elderly), sleep problems, depression, increased risk of suicide and suicide ideation, poor eating habits and addictions. Some of us are already in the throes of cabin fever, feeling claustrophobic in our own homes. Others are feeling depressed, anxious and lonely. Studies show that friendships and social connections provide intellectual stimulation and emotional support through hardships. Stress and isolation can be particularly challenging, especially in times of social distancing. People who provide you with a sense of belonging, love or value can be buffers against stress. Be mindful of the company that you keep and not to self-isolate — both of these can increase your stress and lead to overall poor health.
Ethnographic Methodology
The survey was conducted to give us quantitative data and to get a better sense of the current state of mind and living situation and how it’s changed since COVID-19 started influencing daily life.
The statistical analysis examined the effect of the pandemic on changes within an individual’s mental health using fixed-effects regression. The COVID-19 web-survey sample comprised 100+ participants, aged 16 years and older, across the globe. Sample sizes are true (unweighted). All analyses are weighted, adjusting for complex survey design and non-response.
The survey source link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11mkhrrjtvo40detR5t4magrr6CMbx7G_b54TCJOn_mA/edit#responses
The questions asked were:
- What age group do you fall under?
- What is your gender?
- Approximately when did you first heard about the COVID-19 outbreak?
- What is your living status right now, during the pandemic?
- Is this a change from your living situation before the pandemic?
- How would you describe your relationship with the members of the place where you stay?
- Do you live with any pets?
- Has your employment status changed since the pandemic began?
- Are you currently working from home?
- Is it possible for you to complete your work from home?
- Over the past 3–4 months, what activities have you been undertaking to cope with social distancing and isolation?
- Are you anxious about COVID-19 and its impact on your life?
- Have you got any depressive symptoms during a pandemic?
- Have you got any anxiety symptoms during a pandemic?
- Were you kept under home quarantine?
- Were you kept in home isolation?
- What was your mental state during quarantine and isolation?
Following the above responses, I was able to make the following insights:
Using this information provided a better chance to discover the patterns of the problem and how to solve it. The statistical analysis examined the effect of the pandemic on changes within an individual’s mental health using fixed-effects regression.
- Most of the people came to know about COVID-19 between Jan 2020 to March 2020. Living status was measured as, 63.7% people are staying with families, 9.9% are living with flatmates or living alone, 33% are staying with partner or spouse, and 5% are staying away from there actual living place, either they have to move out of the town shifting to there hometowns.
- The third pie diagram represents that the living situation has changed for almost 73.6% of people after the pandemic, while 24% mentioned that they hadn't left their living state in a pandemic.
- 71% of the people described that their relationship with the member of the house where they are staying is always good. At the same time, 18.7% states that it's sometimes good for them and the rest are on neither good nor bad part.
- As you can see in the diagram above, 82% of the participants do not stay with any pets, while 18% have pets.
p.s. Pets, especially dogs and cats, can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness. - Due to COVID-19, the employment sectors have been majorly affected, which has also added to the rise of mental health concerns. Almost 39% have stated that their employment status has not changed, while 4.7% have become unemployed. An estimated 56% of the global workforce has started working remotely in the last few months, and per the situation, it will remain the same.
“It's the new normal”.
Since December 2019 the coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, has become an ongoing public health issue.
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It states that people don’t want to live fully atomized lives disconnected from human contact.
