Interestingly, this group also reported greater use of social media as a coping mechanism. Individuals with higher socioeconomic status (i.e., higher income and education levels) were more likely to engage in adaptive coping strategies, including relaxation and social connection, and less likely to rely on maladaptive behaviors such as substance use . Sociodemographic characteristics accounted for a substantial portion of the between-person variance in coping behaviors and their associations https://www.futurity.org/mental-health-providers-covid-19-2351902-2/ with mental distress, echoing broader evidence that structural factors, like economic and educational disparities, shape the ability to adopt and maintain healthy coping strategies .
Higher education
These contributed rather little to our understanding of the mental health impact of the emerging crisis. Instead, communication during crises requires concrete and actionable advice that avoids polarization and strengthens vigilance, to foster resilience and help prevent escalation to severe mental health problems108,109. Media reporting should not overemphasize negative mental health impact—for example, putative suicide rate increases or individual negative experiences—which could make situations worse than they actually are. This means that not only should investment in youth and reducing health inequalities remain at the top of any policy agenda but also that mental health should be explicitly addressed from the start in any future global health crisis situation. Implementation of comprehensive and integrated mental health policies was generally inconsistent and suboptimal106 and often in the shadow of policies directed at containing and reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Radio journalist gives the facts on COVID-19 in Uzbekistan
Perhaps unsurprisingly, our poll found that people living in urban areas were less likely than rural residents to connect with nature as much as they wanted. Perhaps not surprisingly, people with strong nature connectedness are likelier to have pro-environmental behaviours such as recycling items or buying seasonal food. Research shows that people who are more connected with nature are usually happier in life and more likely to report feeling their lives are worthwhile. The study was conducted in accordance with the regulations and ethics followed at Ethics Committee of Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
First, the data on use of mental health support strategies relied on participants’ self-reports, so could be affected by recall bias or an unwillingness to disclose this information. This research used a large, well-stratified sample weighted to population proportions to identify the predictors of different approaches people take to support their mental health. This finding corresponds with previous studies conducted before the pandemic, which found that people without qualifications were more likely to use antidepressant drugs and anti-anxiety medication 31, 32.
- Although older adults reported less treatment receipt across all sources, the difference between younger and older adults (66+ years) in treatment receipt was less pronounced for online talking therapy and for structured therapeutic activities.
- The pandemic has led to widespread feelings of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
- Going forward, we are fully committed to ensuring this holistic approach continues to inform government action to tackle the root causes of poor mental health in the years to come.
It is also essential to obtain COVID-19 related information from authorized news agencies and organizations and to seek medical advice only from properly trained healthcare professionals. Sadness and anxious feelings could also arise when constantly seeing members of the community suffering from the pandemic via social media platforms or news reports (Li et al., 2020). With the unpredictable situation and a lot of unknowns about the novel coronavirus, misinformation and fake news are being easily spread via social media platforms (Erku et al., 2020), creating unnecessary fears and anxiety. Frequent social media use exposes oneself to potential fake news/reports/disinformation and the possibility for amplified anxiety.
In addressing HCW mental health, it is also critical that administrators acknowledge the diverse experience of stressors in the workplace setting, which few articles considered. Leadership is a critical factor in securing long standing mental health interventions, which will be continually developed and executed even when health systems return to pre-pandemic work schedules . Nevertheless, scheduling short sessions during HCW breaks or providing remote opportunities for mental health support are two potential solutions proposed in the literature. In another medical institution, among the network of support services, individual support programs were particularly underutilized, with many individuals who expressed interest in counseling ultimately not following through with treatment. Generally, independent of the pandemic, physicians have been found to experience high rates of mental health problems yet show increased reluctance to seek assistance .
Such differences might be due to patients’ reluctance to seek help during the pandemic, the decreased access to services, and different pandemic periods of the studies (see Fig. 2). Honey et al.’s (2021) qualitative secondary analysis of data from people living with enduring MH condition showed that home visits were rarely continued during the pandemic in Australia. In Brazil, an average of 28% fewer appointments for outpatient care than predicted were reported during the first six months of the pandemic (Ornell et al., 2021). In line with this pattern, 61% of participants in the study by Revet et al. (2020) reported a decrease in referrals at the beginning of the pandemic, while 91% reported an increase in 2021 (Revet et al., 2021). All focus groups of UK primary care teams in the study by Ashcroft et al. (2021) reported increased referrals, but less referrals during the first lockdown.