Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Apr 26, 2021
Date Accepted: Jun 25, 2021
Date Submitted to PubMed: Aug 3, 2021
Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on a Sample of Mental Health Patients: Results from the Siyan Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory
ABSTRACT
Background:
Recent research has shown that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation on people’s mental health are quite extensive, but there are limited studies on the effects of the pandemic on patients with mental health disorders.
Objective:
The objective of the present study was to assess the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals who have previously sought treatment for a mental health disorder.
Methods:
The current study uses the newly developed Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory (EPII) survey. This tool was designed to assess tangible impacts of epidemics and pandemics across personal and social life domains. From November 9th, 2020 to February 18th, 2021, a total of 245 adults (recruited from a mental health clinic) completed the consent form and responded to the survey link from the Siyan Clinical Corporation and Siyan Clinical Research practices located in Santa Rosa, California, USA. The analyses provided herein are primarily descriptive and exploratory in nature.
Results:
We found that the most affected age group was 35- to 44-year-olds. This was followed closely by the 18- to 24-year-old age group. People with children under the age of 18 also reported more negative indicators associated with the pandemic compared to those without children at home. When respondents were assessed with regard to their mental health diagnosis, those with a trauma-related disorder or substance use disorder reported more negative indicators on the EPII. Substance use also increased during the pandemic.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, the data collected here may serve as foundational research in the prevention, care and treatment of mental health disorders during pandemics such as COVID-19. Populations such as those with previously diagnosed mental health disorders are particularly at risk for negative effects of pandemic-related stressors such as social isolation, especially if they have children in the household, are of a younger age group, or have a trauma-related or substance use disorder. Further, the EPII survey may prove to be a useful tool in understanding these effects. Overall, these data may be a critical step towards understanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on populations with a mental health diagnosis, which may aid mental health practitioners in understanding the consequences of pandemics on their patients’ overall well-being. Clinical Trial: NCT04568135COVID-19; coronavirus; pandemic; mental health; social isolation; wellness
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