Abstract

BackgroundThe World Health Organization has recognized the importance of assessing population-level mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, a timely surveillance method is urgently needed to track the impact on public mental health.ObjectiveThis brief systematic review focused on the efficiency and quality of data collection of studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe searched the PubMed database using the following search strings: ((COVID-19) OR (SARS-CoV-2)) AND ((Mental health) OR (psychological) OR (psychiatry)). We screened the titles, abstracts, and texts of the published papers to exclude irrelevant studies. We used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to evaluate the quality of each research paper.ResultsOur search yielded 37 relevant mental health surveys of the general public that were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, as of July 10, 2020. All these public mental health surveys were cross-sectional in design, and the journals efficiently made these articles available online in an average of 18.7 (range 1-64) days from the date they were received. The average duration of recruitment periods was 9.2 (range 2-35) days, and the average sample size was 5137 (range 100-56,679). However, 73% (27/37) of the selected studies had Newcastle-Ottawa Scale scores of <3 points, which suggests that these studies are of very low quality for inclusion in a meta-analysis.ConclusionsThe studies examined in this systematic review used an efficient data collection method, but there was a high risk of bias, in general, among the existing public mental health surveys. Therefore, following recommendations to avoid selection bias, or employing novel methodologies considering both a longitudinal design and high temporal resolution, would help provide a strong basis for the formation of national mental health policies.

Highlights

  • The studies examined in this systematic review used an efficient data collection method, but there was a high risk of bias, in general, among the existing public mental health surveys

  • The World Health Organization has recognized the importance of assessing population-level mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • We found 37 relevant mental health surveys of the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic by searching the http://www.jmir.org/2021/2/e25118/

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Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization has recognized the importance of assessing population-level mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 463 articles on the mental health impact of COVID-19 have been published in 2020, and several more mental health surveys are underway [1]. In a global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, time-sensitive policy decision-making underscores the importance of fostering an agile empirical approach that can monitor population-level mental health in a timely manner. During a global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, a timely surveillance method is urgently needed to track the impact on public mental health

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