Abstract
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Australian government implementing strict international border closures. However, research has not yet investigated the mental health status of individuals impacted negatively by these international border closures.MethodsThe present study was a cross-sectional online survey of 3968 adults who reported being negatively affected by the border closure during June and July 2021. Psychological distress was measured with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), stress with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and wellbeing with the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF).ResultsIn total, 3968 participants reported being negatively affected by the current restrictions (63.4% in Australia, 36.6% overseas). The vast majority of respondents (83.6%) reported high or very high levels of psychological distress (mean K10 score > 22), and 74.8% reported poor mental wellbeing, with similar risk profiles for participants in Australia or overseas. The most common scenarios of affected individuals included 1) wanting to enter Australia (30.8%), 2) wanting to leave Australia (29.6%) and 3) wanting someone to enter Australia (25.6%). Reasons included wanting to be with partners, family and friends (81.1%), for employment/economic reasons (4.9%), study (4.1%), personal safety/health (2.6%) or holiday (1.4%). While psychological distress was extremely high across all groups, separated partners and those with interrupted study experienced the highest distress (mean K10 = 35.7, n = 155).ConclusionThe data suggests a highly elevated mental health risk profile among individuals who report being negatively affected by current Australian international border closures. The results provide valuable data to inform future policy decisions and have clear implications regarding effective service provision for this vulnerable group.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Australian government implementing strict international border closures
We found very high levels of distress and perceived stress as well as low wellbeing among individuals who reported being negatively affected by the current COVID-19 international border closure
Regardless of participants’ location and independent of the specific scenario or reason why individuals were affected, we found that mean levels of psychological distress and perceived stress were very high, while wellbeing was low among individuals who reported having been negatively affected by the current COVID-19 Australian international border closure
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Australian government implementing strict international border closures. Ali et al Globalization and Health (2022) 18:12 attributed to reasons beyond exposure to (or the direct fear of contracting) the virus [1, 2], in Australia where the occurrence of infections has been comparatively attenuated [3] as a result of strict mitigation measures In this context, mental health challenges can encompass elevated levels of psychological distress and/ or low levels of wellbeing [4]. Including parents (who are not considered immediate family members) and visa holders it is extremely difficult to enter the country as they require individual travel exemptions, for example, for compassionate and compelling reasons These are commonly rejected with data from March 2020 to September 2020 indicating that from 53,212 applications received more than 90% were rejected [15]. Empirical data on important characteristics, for example, the mental health and wellbeing of those directly impacted by the current Australian border restrictions, has not yet been established
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