Abstract
BackgroundThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is expected to have widespread and pervasive implications for mental health in terms of deteriorating outcomes and increased health service use, leading to calls for empirical research on mental health during the pandemic. Internet-based psychological measurement can play an important role in collecting imperative data, assisting to guide evidence-based decision making in practice and policy, and subsequently facilitating immediate reporting of measurement results to participants.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to use an internet-based mental health measurement platform to compare the mental health profile of community members during COVID-19 with community members assessed before the pandemic.MethodsThis study uses an internet-based self-assessment tool to collect data on psychological distress, mental well-being, and resilience in community cohorts during (n=673) and prior to the pandemic (two cohorts, n=1264 and n=340).ResultsOur findings demonstrate significantly worse outcomes on all mental health measures for participants measured during COVID-19 compared to those measured before (P<.001 for all outcomes, effect sizes ranging between Cohen d=0.32 to Cohen d=0.81. Participants who demonstrated problematic scores for at least one of the mental health outcomes increased from 58% (n=197/340) before COVID-19 to 79% (n=532/673) during COVID-19, leading to only 21% (n=141) of measured participants displaying good mental health during the pandemic.ConclusionsThe results clearly demonstrate deterioration in mental health outcomes during COVID-19. Although further research is needed, our findings support the serious mental health implications of the pandemic and highlight the utility of internet-based data collection tools in providing evidence to innovate and strengthen practice and policy during and after the pandemic.
Highlights
BackgroundThe advent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the widespread control mechanisms implemented around the world are expected to lead to significant deterioration in mental health in the wider community; the magnitude of the damage is unknown [1,2]
There is an important role to play for internet-based measurement of the general distress and well-being profile of the community, which is more suitable for online testing compared to assessment of specific disorders or severe mental illness
The COVID-19 group consisted of 673 participants, while the control cohorts consisted of 1264 participants and 340 participants from the GEN group and help-seeking Mental Health Continuum Short-Form (MHC-SF) (HELP) group, respectively
Summary
BackgroundThe advent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the widespread (social) control mechanisms implemented around the world are expected to lead to significant deterioration in mental health in the wider community; the magnitude of the damage is unknown [1,2]. In addition to their ability to improve the psychological assessment process in general [7,8,9], internet-based measurement of mental health outcomes can play an important role in gathering data to inform policy and practice during and after the pandemic [10] Such measurements inherently possess the ability to collect data on a large scale and facilitate immediate reporting on user mental health status, which can enhance participant mental health literacy and stimulate help-seeking behavior [11]. Further research is needed, our findings support the serious mental health implications of the pandemic and highlight the utility of internet-based data collection tools in providing evidence to innovate and strengthen practice and policy during and after the pandemic
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