Mental Health Of Residents Research Articles

Mental health of healthcare residents in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Scoping Review Protocol

The objective was to present the methodological steps for developing a scoping review aimed at mapping studies on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of health field residents. This is a scoping review protocol, developed in accordance with the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual and registered on the Open Science Framework (DOI: https://osf.io/vydtz/). For the literature search, the following databases will be used: PubMed via MEDLINE, Web of Science, SciVerse Scopus (Elsevier), Embase, PsycINFO, LILACS via BVS, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, and Google Scholar. The selection process and the presentation of results will follow the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. B Based on the results found in the studies selected to compose the sample, we aim to evaluate the existing research on the impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health of residents in the health field, both within the academic environment and in the context of public policy discussions related to mental health. The goal is to develop a scoping review that enables the mapping of studies, the identification of gaps, and the proposal of new research on the subject.

How Green Space Justice in urban built-up areas affects public mental health: a moderated chain mediation model.

Green and blue spaces, as crucial components of urban ecosystems, significantly impact the physical and mental health of residents. However, the mechanisms through which Green/Blue Space Justice influence residents' health remain unclear. This study aims to explore the impact of green spaces on public psychological responses, physical activity, and mental health from a justice perspective, and to examine the moderating role of blue spaces in this relationship. The research was conducted in selected communities within the Chang-Zhu-Tan urban agglomeration in Hunan Province, China. A total of 801 valid questionnaires were collected through field visits and online surveys. The study uses an improved Gaussian-based two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method to assess green space accessibility. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and moderation effect analysis to reveal the relationships between variables. The findings indicate that Green Space Justice has a significant positive impact on psychological responses, physical activity, and mental health; psychological responses and physical activity play crucial mediating roles between Green Space Justice and mental health; and Green Space Justice significantly affects mental health through a chain mediation path involving psychological responses and physical activity. Moreover, Blue Space Justice significantly moderates the impact of Green Space Justice on psychological responses and physical activity, but does not have a significant direct impact on mental health. This study enriches the theory of Green Space Justice by revealing the mechanisms through which it influences mental health via psychological responses and physical activity. It provides a scientific basis for the development of healthy cities. Additionally, it recommends that urban planning should prioritize the equitable distribution and high accessibility of both green and blue spaces to comprehensively enhance residents' physical and mental well-being. Policymakers should consider prioritizing the accessibility of high-quality green spaces for vulnerable communities during urban renewal and expansion processes to reduce social health inequalities and promote broader public health outcomes.

Framework for analyzing the relationship between supply, demand, and flow of recreational services in urban park green spaces

Regular recreational activities in urban park green spaces are beneficial to the physical and mental health of residents. The supply capacity of, the residents’ demand for, and the actual flow of recreational services must be distinguished and evaluated to promote the fair and reasonable layout of urban park green spaces. However, the unit dimensions of the supply, demand, and flow indexes of recreational services are often inconsistent or only in simple semiquantitative forms, which cannot be directly compared and analyzed. Thus, this study constructed a research framework of “potential supply/demand–pressure/accessibility–actual supply/demand” for recreational services, and the framework was tested using the central urban area of Xuchang as the experimental area. Results show the following: (1) A spatial mismatch exists in the supply–demand relationship of recreational services in the study area; this relationship is reflected in the semicircular layer structure from the central and southern areas to the periphery, changing from shortage of supply to oversupply. (2) The actual supply of recreational services is highly correlated with the number of people served, which can explain 50.38% of the change in the actual supply. (3) The potential demand for recreational services is highly correlated with the actual demand. It can explain 78.96% of the change in the actual demand. (4) Accessibility is a non-critical factor affecting the travel rate of residential quarters, while supply pressure is a key factor affecting the utilization rate of park green space. The framework can effectively identify important or low-utilization service-providing areas, unmet service-demanding areas, and important service-connecting areas. It is suitable for the study of the relationship between the supply, demand, and flow of user movement-related services.

Occupational, academic, and personal determinants of wellbeing and psychological distress in residents: results of a survey in Lyon, France.

The mental health of residents is a growing significant concern, particularly with respect to hospital and university training conditions. Our goal was to assess the professional, academic, and psychological determinants of the mental health status of all residents of the academy of Lyon, France. The Health Barometer of Lyon Subdivision Residents (BASIL) is an initiative which consists in proposing a recurrent online survey to all residents in medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry, belonging to the Lyon subdivision. The first of these surveys was conducted from May to July 2022. Participants should complete a series of validated questionnaires, including the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), respectively, and ad-hoc questions assessing their global health and hospital and academic working conditions. A Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) analysis was conducted prior to multivariable analyses, to explore the determinants associated with low wellbeing (WEMWBS <43) and high psychological distress (K6 ≥ 13). A total of 904 residents (response rate: 46.7%) participated in the survey. A low level of wellbeing was observed in 23% of participants, and was significantly associated to job strain (OR = 2.18; 95%CI = [1.32-3.60]), low social support (OR = 3.13; 95%CI = [2.05-4.78]) and the experience of very poor university teaching (OR = 2.51; 95%CI = [1.29-4.91]). A high level of psychological distress was identified for 13% of participants, and associated with low social support (OR = 2.41; 95%CI = [1.48-3.93]) and the experience of very poor university teaching (OR = 2.89, 95%CI = [1.16-7.21]). Hospital working conditions, social support, and the perception of teaching quality, were three major determinants of wellbeing and psychological distress among health profession residents. Demographic determinants, personal life and lifestyle habits were also associated. This supports a multilevel action in prevention programs aiming to enhance wellbeing and reduce mental distress in this specific population and local organizational specificities.

Ultralight and strain-sensitive bacterial cellulose derived carbon fiber-reinforced graphene aerogel for broadband sound absorption

The growing severity of urban noise pollution poses a threat to the physical and mental health of residents, prompting the need for the development of effective sound-absorbing materials. Herein, we present a versatile method to fabricate ultralight and flexible graphene-based aerogels by introducing one-dimensional carbon fibers as reinforcements. These carbon nanofiber-reinforced graphene aerogels (CNF/GAs) were obtained by the carbonization of freeze-casted bacterial cellulose/graphene oxide (BC/GO). Our CNF/GAs possess a low apparent density (∼3.05 mg cm−3) and exhibit broad-band sound absorption performance with a superior noise reduction coefficient (NRC) as high as 0.65 at a thickness of 30 mm. Meanwhile, their excellent elasticity endows the CNF/GAs with strain-sensing capability, enhancing their capacity for detecting deformations when utilized as sound absorbers in engineering applications. Additionally, the highly porous structure makes the CNF/GAs excellent thermal insulators, with a thermal conductivity as low as 0.011 W m−1 K−1, further expanding their environmental reliability. Therefore, our approach develops CNF/GAs with excellent broad-band sound absorption performance and mechanical-environmental reliability, showing significant practical potential.

Improvement of Human Comfort in Rural Cave Dwellings via Sunrooms in Cold Regions of China

Economic development limits the living quality of rural residents. In particular, the residential buildings in northern China generally have poor thermal comfort in winter, which affects the physical and mental health of residents. Because of the separation of rooms, residents who live in cave dwellings often have to enter and leave rooms in the course of their daily lives, which leads to worse thermal feelings in winter. Because of the low price and the wind insulation and heat storage, sunrooms are widely used in renovations of rural houses. The traditional purpose of the addition of a sunroom is to provide a buffer room between outdoor and indoor spaces. This manuscript focuses on improving the degree of thermal comfort by means of a sunroom connecting all rooms. This study selected two families with the same number of members and similar daily activities as the study cases. One of the families had a sunroom built to connect its bedroom, living room, and washroom. The household’s air temperature and human comfort were measured both on holidays and on workdays. It is demonstrated that adding a sunroom can significantly stabilize the thermal environment and increase the air temperature in both the bedroom and the living room. Adding a sunroom can increase the air temperature of a cave dwelling’s main room by 1.0 °C on workdays and 4.3 °C on holidays. A cave dwelling with a sunroom can also provide residents with a decent level of human comfort for 24.4% of their daily time on workdays and 39.1% of the time during holidays. This research demonstrates that a sunroom can not only increase the air temperature in cave dwellings but also enhance the stability of human comfort. The conclusion provides new renovation ideas for improving the living comfort of cave dwellings.

Impact of the 2021 Fire in the Municipality of Ancient Olympia in Greece on the Mental Health of Residents

A natural disaster is the probability of a potentially catastrophic event occurring over a period of time in a specific geographical area. The aim of this research was to investigate whether the catastrophic fire of 2021 affected the mental health, in terms of post-traumatic stress and depression, of the social care services beneficiaries in the Municipality of Ancient Olympia in Greece. A questionnaire was used which, apart from demographic questions, contained two main tools: a) the PCL Scale (a tool for assessing post-traumatic stress), b) the Geriatric Depression Scale. The individuals with post-traumatic stress in the sample are in the range of moderate to high PTSD symptomatology. The majority of the participants are in the range of moderate PTSD symptomatology, but there is also a significant percentage who are in the range of high PTSD symptomatology. In terms of geriatric depression, the individuals in the sample are close to the mean. This article was written to serve as reference for the PTSD that can be directly caused by natural disasters.

Optimization strategy of community planning for environmental health and public health in smart city under multi-objectives.

As population density increases, environmental hygiene and public health become increasingly severe. As the space where residents stay for the longest time and have the most profound impact on their physical and mental health, the quality of the environment in urban communities largely determines the degree to which residents engage in physical activity, bear the risk of pollution exposure, and obtain healthy food. Therefore, in order to ensure the physical and mental health of residents, this study proposes community planning guided by environmental hygiene and public health, and establishes an environmental health assessment system for this purpose. This system evaluates the community environment from four aspects: land use, service facilities, site convenience, and environmental quality. Established the diversity, density, road network connectivity and facilities accessibility nine criteria, as well as the land function of mix, plot ratio, food environment, network ring and connected index, pavement risk level, green configuration and neighborhood material environment disorder degree of 27 indicators of community built environmental evaluation index system. The data is collected through field survey, questionnaire distribution, resident interview and data mapping, and the established evaluation index system is used to evaluate the construction environment of the community. The experimental research data included population data, CAD plan, land use data, street data, POI point data, building data and bus station data, etc. 273 questionnaires were distributed, 264 were recovered, 8 invalid questionnaires were removed, and 256 valid questionnaires were obtained. These experiments confirm that land use, service facilities, site convenience, and environmental quality have a significant impact on the built environment of communities, with impact weights of 0.513, 0.227, 0.135, and 0.125, respectively. The above weights are calculated based on the index judgment matrix and the eigenvectors. The scores of land use, service facilities, site convenience, and environmental quality for the study subjects were 3.44, 1.46, 0.94, and 0.51, respectively, among them, the land use score is less than 3.85, the 1 service facility score is less than 1.71, the site convenience score is less than 1.01, and the environmental quality score is less than 0.94; indicating that the community has serious problems such as single land use types, pollution exposure, and difficulty in obtaining healthy food. Therefore, community planning and transformation based on land use, service facilities, venue convenience, and environmental quality can effectively improve the physical and mental health of residents. In the specific community transformation plan, artificial intelligence and data-driven methods can be used to optimize the land use plan, service facility configuration, site convenience transformation and environmental quality improvement, so as to formulate the optimal community transformation plan and improve the comfort and happiness of community residents. In the future, on the basis of the existing research, the selection of community types will be further enriched and the research cases will be expanded. And through the in-depth practical study of the case, the constructed evaluation index system is optimized and improved to make it more scientific. At the same time, as urban renewal and design have entered the era of stock planning, based on the more perfect evaluation index system, more specific and detailed system discussion of the built communities with public health problems, in order to provide more detailed services for the construction of a better and healthy living environment in the future.

Green Finance and Health: How Does Implementing Carbon Emissions Trading Affect Mental Health?

The issue of environmental pollution is hindering the well-being of Chinese citizens, posing a critical challenge to economic development. Existing studies on the impact of carbon emissions trading policies have largely overlooked their potential effects on the mental health and life satisfaction of residents. Therefore, this paper aims to broaden the existing research by investigating the influence of Chinas carbon emission trading policy on mental health using a nationwide longitudinal survey and employing the Difference-in-Differences (DID) model. Moreover, it examines the moderating effect of government in this relationship. The results show that (1)policies involving carbon emissions trading can improve residents quality of life and lessen depressive symptoms; (2)the effects are more pronounced for rural residents than for urban residents, and (3)performance evaluation of the government is important in moderating the relationship between carbon emissions trading and residents mental health.

(RE)THINKING CARE IN PROFESSIONAL HEALTH TRAINING: EXPERIENCE REPORT

This study focuses on the mental health of residents who worked during the Covid-19 crisis, with the primary objective of contributing to the enhancement of healthcare provided during their professional training in hospital settings. The aim of this study was to promote the care of residents in their professional training within the hospital context. In pursuit of this intention, the study drew upon the experiences of residents and analyzed the pedagogical project of a multiprofessional residency program as well as its Internal Regulations regarding caregiver care. The goal was to contribute to healthcare training programs in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, based on the practices of residents, serving as guiding principles for clinical activities. Data collection instruments included Narrative Interviews, Document Analysis, and the Researcher's Field Diary. In the interpretation of the residents' narrative data, Gadamer's hermeneutical concept of horizon fusion in human dialogue was employed. The study participants consisted of four professionals from a Multiprofessional Residency Program in Health at a hospital in the Agreste region of Pernambuco. The sample was non-probabilistic and intentional, selecting residents of both genders who were part of the program. As a result, the study highlights the importance of exploring new possibilities and strategies to support residents in their training, transcending established norms, with the aim of promoting openness to listening to their voices, which were previously neglected. It is crucial to facilitate interactions in which their voices are heard, allowing their experiences to gain visibility and influence healthcare interventions, policies, and professional training.

Vegetation Inventory Before Reconstruction of Rosnička Outdoor Sports Fields (city Brno, Czech Republic)

Outdoor sports fields are places for sports activities, but simultaneously, they also serve as living spaces for vegetation. Sports fields are primarily intended for human activities, yet they also serve as habitats for plants. The interaction between sports activities and vegetation is an understudied area, which is the focus of this paper. The aim of the study is to evaluate the biodiversity and ecosystem functions of the vegetation. The selected Rosnička sports field is used by the Sokol Physical Education Unit and is located in the cadastral territory of Brno-Žabovřesky, Czech Republic. A total of 99 plant taxa were found within the locality. As revealed by the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), diverse parts of the sports field significantly differ in species composition from each other. The vegetation present in the outdoor sports field fulfils several ecosystem functions, such as creating a favourable microclimate, supporting biodiversity, serving an aesthetic function and providing a source of fruit. The quality of the sports turf is essential as it must withstand and facilitate sports activities. Sports facilities not only support the physical and mental health of residents, but also have the potential to synergistically support the biodiversity of urban ecosystems.

Medo de mim: experiências e vivências de residentes em saúde na pandemia de Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected health professionals, including residents. This study aims to reflect on the impacts of the pandemic on the mental health of residents in the context of medical and multiprofessional residency and the implications for the training process of these professionals. It is a qualitative research study involving interviews conducted with medical and multiprofessional residents, utilizing thematic content analysis. Health residents were at the forefront of confronting the pandemic and are considered vulnerable professionals due to their exposure to the virus and psychological distress, such as fear of illness. They experienced the effects of social distancing, both as a measure to prevent transmission and due to concerns from family members and cohabitants, resulting in feelings loneliness. The study reveals impacts on mental health, highlighting the importance of planning actions to provide and enhance the training of health residents.

The Application of Big Data Analysis in Elderly Oriented Renovation Space Design

In order to understand the application of big data analysis in the design of elderly-oriented renovation spaces, an application study of big data analysis in the design of elderly-oriented renovation spaces has been proposed. The rapid development of the economy has led to the prosperity and spatial expansion of cities. At the same time, social issues such as land scarcity, traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and the uneven allocation of urban spatial resources have led to social polarization, marginalization of the interests of vulnerable groups, and seriously affected the physical and mental health of residents. With the intensification of the aging trend of the world population, aging has become a major global strategic issue. How to create a truly suitable spatial environment for elderly living has become a question worth considering. This article uses methods such as questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews to obtain a large amount of data, analyze the current situation of the living space of the elderly in Changchun City, the physiological and psychological needs, activity characteristics, social interaction characteristics, etc. of the elderly group, and then propose suggestions for the planning and design of the living space of healthy urban elderly.

The Impact of Moderate Earthquakes on Antidepressant Prescriptions in Ulsan, South Korea: A Controlled Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

In 2016, two consecutive moderate magnitude earthquakes occurred in Ulsan, South Korea. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of earthquakes on the mental health of residents in Ulsan. We used data from the 2015-2017 Korean Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service National Patient Sample. We conducted an interrupted time series analysis using location-based controls. Changes in the number of antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and zolpidem prescriptions in Ulsan were compared to controls. Overall changes in weekly prescriptions 1 year after the first earthquake, compared to a non-earthquake scenario, were estimated. In antidepressant prescriptions, the increase in trend after an earthquake was significantly higher than controls. However, the changes in benzodiazepines and zolpidem prescribing were not significant. Overall, the impact of the earthquake on weekly antidepressant prescriptions at 1 year was estimated as a 1.32 (95% CI, 1.18-1.56) rate ratio compared to the non-earthquake scenario. This corresponded to an increase of 1,989.7 (95% CI, 1,202.1-3,063.0) in the number of prescriptions. Among subgroups, the increase was highest among males aged 20-39 years. The moderate earthquake in Ulsan was associated with an increase in antidepressant prescriptions. The increase in the male group aged 20-39 was the highest. The impact may vary according to the context of the population.

Examining the impact of neighborhood environment factors on residents’ emotions during COVID-19 lockdown and reopening: A Wuhan study on mediation and moderation

Due to COVID-19, the urban lockdown has caused a significant impact on the mental health of residents. However, limited research investigates the role of neighborhood factors on residents’ mental health during and after the lockdown. This study examines Wuhan, the first city to experience the COVID-19 outbreak, employing multiple linear regression and XGBoost algorithms to analyze the emotional status and distribution of Wuhan residents. The goal of this study is to identify the moderating effect of the neighborhood environment scale on emotional positivity and the marginal effect of the neighborhood environment on residents’ emotions. The results of the study indicate that specific neighborhood environmental characteristics have varying effects on residents’ positive emotions, both before and after the COVID-19 lockdown. The green space ratio, attraction density, waterfront space density, and service facility density all positively affected mood within different distance ranges. Shopping facilities, on the other hand, had mainly positive effects during the open period, with negative effects during the closed period. Furthermore, this study determined scale thresholds where neighborhood environments had a positive effect on mood. For instance, attractions and waterfront areas improved the mood of residents in residential areas, up to at least 3 km away. Medical facilities had a positive effect on residents’ mood beyond 2.2 km. This study highlights crucial implications for planning and managing neighborhoods to promote resilience during future public health crises.

Unleashing the link between the relaxation of the COVID-19 control policy and residents' mental health in China: the mediating role of family tourism consumption.

COVID-19 has negatively influenced industrial development, family consumption, and residents' mental health. Unfortunately, it has not yet been studied whether this adverse situation can be alleviated after the relaxation of the COVID-19 control policy (RCC). Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effect of the RCC on the resident's mental health and the mediating effect of family tourism consumption. By using the PSM and mediating effetc model to research the panel data of two periods (April 2021 and April 2023) for Shaanxi province, China. The RCC negatively inhibited the mental health severity of residents, and the mental health severity decreased by 0.602. In particular, the RCC showed the most substantial negative effect on residents' stress, followed by anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, it is found that the impact of the RCC on the mental health of residents is highly heterogeneous. The RCC indicates a linear significant effect on the mental health of residents under 60 years of age, while the results were found insignificant for residents above 60 years of age. Meanwhile, the RCC's improvement effect on urban residents' mental health is greater than that of rural residents. In addition, mechanism analysis showed that tourism consumption plays a mediating role in the influence of the RCC on the mental health of residents, and the mediating effect accounted for 24.58% of the total effect. Based on the findings, the study proposes that government and policymakers should strengthen mental health intervention, improve access to mental health counseling, stimulate economic development, expand the employment of residents, and track the mutation of the novel coronavirus.

Effect of Temperature, Seed Size, Sowing Depth, and Position on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Bauhinia retusa Roxb. and Bauhinia variegata L.

In urban forestry plantations are implemented in different cities of the world for social and environmental benefits. Bauhinia retusa and Bauhinia variegata are important species and to be used as large-scale plantation programs in urban forestry which might solve or mitigate urban, social, and environmental issues such as improving the physical &amp; mental health of residents, food and nutrition security, increasing urban biodiversity, cooling the neighboring, preventing soil erosion, flooding, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. The present study was conducted with the aim of producing quality planting material for B. retusa and B. variegata in the nursery for afforestation programs. Seeds of B. retusa and B. variegata were collected from the natural habitats to assess seed germination and seedling growth. Seeds were stored in different types of containers at room temperature and later on exposed to 15, 20, and 25 °C in seed germinator. Seeds were further sown in polythene bags according to the seed size, seed coat color, seed sowing depth, the orientation of seeds, and the result of the emergence of seedlings, their growth, and biomass were estimated. A two-way analysis of variance was calculated to estimate the variation among the studied parameters. Results revealed that a constant 25 °C temperature was considered best for seed germination of both the Bauhinia species. Polybags were found the most suitable for storing the Bauhinia seeds among the storage containers. The seedling emergence and growth were maximum in yellow color and large seeds. In B. retusa, seedling emergence, and growths were the maximum in seeds sown at a horizontal position and in B. variegata at an upright position. Seedling emergence, length, and biomass were recorded the maximum when seeds of B. retusa were sown at 4 cm depth and B. variegata seeds were sown at 2 cm depth. The study recommends that the yellow color seed that has to be sown at 2 cm to 4 cm depth with upright and horizontal positions is considered best for the production of quality planting stock of both studied Bauhinia species.

Can the development of renewable energy in China compensate for the damage caused by environmental pollution to residents' health?

China's rapid economic growth in recent decades has caused a growing problem of environmental pollution, which negatively impacts the physical and mental health of residents. In recent years, renewable energy has emerged as a promising solution to alleviate environmental pollution and improve residents' well-being. However, it is unknown whether renewable energy development can counterbalance the health impacts of environmental pollution. Therefore, we conducted a study using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to examine the impact of environmental pollution and renewable energy on the health of 20,694 residents. Our analysis showed that renewable energy development can partially offset the negative health effects of environmental pollution. Specifically, we found that a 1% increase in environmental pollution is linked to an average decrease of 0.0911% in physical health (PHY) and 0.0566% in mental health (MEN), whereas each 1% rise in renewable energy corresponds to an average increase of 0.2585% in PHY and 0.1847% in MEN. These positive effects apply to male and female residents, urban and rural residents, young and middle-aged adults, and people with low, medium, and high levels of education. These findings are significant for decision-makers striving to improve Chinese residents' physical and mental health by considering the specific impact of renewable energy and comprehensive environmental pollution.

The relationship between typical dreams and mental health of residents in village-in-city

AimThis study aimed to explore the relationship between typical dreams and the mental health of residents in village-in-city. MethodsThis study used the Chinese version of the Typical Dreams Questionnaire and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) to investigate the mental health status and typical dream themes of 1,190 residents recruited through random sampling from a village-in-city in Xi'an. Correlation analysis, t-test, and binary regression analysis were performed on the data using SPSS 24.0. ResultsThe five most frequent dream themes among residents in the village-in-city were "falling"; "school, teacher, study"; "being chased but not physically injured"; "enjoying delicious food"; and "repeatedly trying to do something," in the given order. The most frequent dream theme with negative SCL-90 factors was "falling" and with positive SCL-90 factors was "school, teacher, study." Typical dreams on different themes were significantly correlated with SCL-90 factors. The theme of "enjoying delicious food" was not significantly associated with most factors in SCL-90.

The Wellbeing in Place Perceptions Scale: Structure, Validity, Reliability and Correlates During COVID Times

The influence of place-based factors on the physical and mental health of residents is well established and acknowledged within the population health approach to addressing health and wellbeing inequalities. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the issues that global communities face. The current UK policy context of ‘levelling up’ represents these concerns and the need to address them. This research examines perceptions of community wellbeing and its determinants as collected within a city region of the North West Coast of England during COVID restrictions between June and August 2020. The paper aims to establish the structure, construct validity and reliability of a new measure of community wellbeing - the Wellbeing in Place Perceptions Scale. Further, it aims to examine how this measure of community wellbeing correlated with symptoms of common mental health as reported by residents of this relatively disadvantaged city region during this unprecedented time. Results indicate that the WIPPS has a reliable and valid structure, correlating significantly with another widely used measure of sense of community and with the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Its relationship to self-reported common mental distress is also clear. Though in need of replication and longitudinal testing, the findings reported here on this new measure remind us that individual and place-based factors combine to influence wellbeing and that community needs to have an increasingly influential role to sustainably prevent future mental health challenges.