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Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance

Date Submitted: Dec 23, 2022
Date Accepted: Mar 20, 2024
Date Submitted to PubMed: Apr 12, 2024

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

An Accessible Web-Based Survey to Monitor the Mental Health of People With Mild Intellectual Disability or Low Literacy Skills During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparative Data Analysis

Koks-Leensen MC, Menko A, Raaijmakers F, Fransen-Kuppens GA, Bevelander KE

An Accessible Web-Based Survey to Monitor the Mental Health of People With Mild Intellectual Disability or Low Literacy Skills During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparative Data Analysis

JMIR Public Health Surveill 2024;10:e44827

DOI: 10.2196/44827

PMID: 38607229

PMCID: 11176870

An Accessible Web-based Survey to Monitor the Mental Health of People with Mild Intellectual Disabilities and/or Low Literacy Skills during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparative Data Analysis

  • Monique C.J. Koks-Leensen; 
  • Anouk Menko; 
  • Fieke Raaijmakers; 
  • Gerdine A.J. Fransen-Kuppens; 
  • Kirsten E. Bevelander

ABSTRACT

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic and related control measures affected the mental health of all populations. Although particular subgroups appear more vulnerable than others, they are often underrepresented in mainstream surveys because they are hard to reach and study measurements are not adapted to their literacy skills.

Objective:

This study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among people with lower cognitive and literacy skills compared with people who are mainly represented in national surveys.

Methods:

A repeated cross-sectional study of people with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) and/or low literacy skills and a general population sample was conducted in the Netherlands. An easy-read online survey was co-designed with, and tested among, people with MID and/or low literacy skills and conducted in three rounds within one year of the COVID-19 pandemic (T1: November-December 2020, T2: March-April 2021 and T3: September-October 2021). The survey contained questions about demographics and six aspects of mental health; feeling happy, feeling energized, stress, worry, feeling lonely, and sleeping problems.

Results:

The web-based survey and adapted recruitment procedure enabled 412 persons with MID and/or low literacy skills to participate in T1, 351 in T2, and 296 in T3. They were significantly younger, had a lower level of education, and more often than not were born outside the Netherlands. The target group displayed significantly poorer mental health scores than the general population sample, and, although scores improved over time in both populations with the gradual relaxation of control measures, disproportional effects remained.

Conclusions:

General disease control measures for the entire Dutch population affected people with MID and/or low literacy skills more negatively than the general population. Our study underscores the relevance of including people with MID and/or low literacy skills in public health research, as they are often overlooked in regular health data. . An accessible web-based survey particularly targeted at this population enabled us to do so, and we reached a group of respondents significantly different from regular survey participants. Results from this monitor provided a good insight into the health of people with MID and/or low literacy skills and gained knowledge for care organizations and policymakers to improve health promotion and reduce health disparities, in unexpected events such as a pandemic as well as in general.


 Citation

Please cite as:

Koks-Leensen MC, Menko A, Raaijmakers F, Fransen-Kuppens GA, Bevelander KE

An Accessible Web-Based Survey to Monitor the Mental Health of People With Mild Intellectual Disability or Low Literacy Skills During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparative Data Analysis

JMIR Public Health Surveill 2024;10:e44827

DOI: 10.2196/44827

PMID: 38607229

PMCID: 11176870

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