The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic affecting health and wellbeing globally. In addition to the physical health, economic, and social implications, the psychological impacts of this pandemic are increasingly being reported in the scientific literature. This narrative review reflected on scholarly articles on the epidemiology of mental health problems in COVID-19. The current literature suggests that people affected by COVID-19 may have a high burden of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety disorders, stress, panic attack, irrational anger, impulsivity, somatization disorder, sleep disorders, emotional disturbance, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and suicidal behavior. Moreover, several factors associated with mental health problems in COVID-19 are found, which include age, gender, marital status, education, occupation, income, place of living, close contact with people with COVID-19, comorbid physical and mental health problems, exposure to COVID-19 related news and social media, coping styles, stigma, psychosocial support, health communication, confidence in health services, personal protective measures, risk of contracting COVID-19, and perceived likelihood of survival. Furthermore, the epidemiological distribution of mental health problems and associated factors were heterogeneous among the general public, COVID-19 patients, and healthcare providers. The current evidence suggests that a psychiatric epidemic is cooccurring with the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitates the attention of the global health community. Future epidemiological studies should emphasize on psychopathological variations and temporality of mental health problems in different populations. Nonetheless, multipronged interventions should be developed and adopted to address the existing psychosocial challenges and promote mental health amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Epidemiology of mental health problems in COVID-19: a review.

Investigating the emerging COVID-19 research trends in the field of business and management: A bibliometric analysis approach

Objectives Transmission of infectious diseases is often prevented by quarantine and isolation of the populations at risk. These approaches restrict the mobility, social interactions, and daily activities of the affected individuals. In recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, quarantine and isolation are being adopted in many contexts, which necessitates an evaluation of global evidence on how such measures impact the mental health outcomes among populations. This umbrella review aimed to synthesize the available evidence on mental health outcomes of quarantine and isolation for preventing infectious diseases. Methods We searched nine major databases and additional sources and included articles if they were systematically conducted reviews, published as peer-reviewed journal articles, and reported mental health outcomes of quarantine or isolation in any population. Results Among 1,364 citations, only eight reviews met our criteria. Most of the primary studies in those reviews were conducted in high-income nations and in hospital settings. These articles reported a high burden of mental health problems among patients, informal caregivers, and healthcare providers who experienced quarantine or isolation. Prevalent mental health problems among the affected individuals include depression, anxiety, mood disorders, psychological distress, posttraumatic stress disorder, insomnia, fear, stigmatization, low self-esteem, lack of self-control, and other adverse mental health outcomes. Conclusions This umbrella review found severe mental health problems among individuals and populations who have undergone quarantine and isolation in different contexts. This evidence necessitates multipronged interventions including policy measures for strengthening mental health services globally and promoting psychosocial wellbeing among high-risk populations.

https://www.e-epih.org/upload/pdf/epih-42-e2020038.pdf

Mental health outcomes of quarantine and isolation for infection prevention: a systematic umbrella review of the global evidence.

Many Indian COVID-19 suicide cases are turning the press-media attention and flooding in the social media platforms although, no particular studies assessed the COVID-19 suicide causative factors to a large extent. Therefore, the present study presents 69 COVID-19 suicide cases (aged 19 to 65 years; 63 cases were males). The suicide causalities are included as follows - fear of COVID-19 infection (n=21), followed by financial crisis (n=19), loneliness, social boycott and pressure to be quarantine, COVID-19 positive, COVID-19 work-related stress, unable to come back home due to lockdown, unavailability of alcohol etc. Considering the extreme psychological impacts related to COVID-19, there emerges a need for countrywide extensive tele-mental health care services.

Aggregated COVID-19 suicide incidences in India: Fear of COVID-19 infection is the prominent causative factor.

Background: Transmission of infectious diseases is often prevented by quarantine and isolation of the populations at risk. These approaches restrict the mobility, social interactions, and daily activities of the affected individuals. In recent novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, quarantine and isolation are being adopted in many contexts, which necessitates an evaluation of global evidence on how such measures impact the mental health outcomes among populations. This umbrella review aimed to synthesize the available evidence on mental health outcomes of quarantine and isolation for preventing infectious diseases.

Materials and methods: We searched nine major databases and additional sources and included articles if they were systematically conducted reviews, published as peer-reviewed journal articles, and reported mental health outcomes of quarantine or isolation in any population.

Results: Among 1364 citations, only eight reviews met our criteria. Most of the primary studies in those reviews were conducted in high-income nations and in hospital settings. These articles reported a high burden of mental health problems among patients, informal caregivers, and healthcare providers who experienced quarantine or isolation. Prevalent mental health problems among the affected individuals include depression, anxiety, mood disorders, psychological distress, posttraumatic stress disorder, insomnia, fear, stigmatization, low self-esteem, lack of self-control, and other adverse mental health outcomes.

Conclusion: This umbrella review found severe mental health problems among individuals and populations who have undergone quarantine and isolation in different contexts. This evidence necessitates multipronged interventions including policy measures for strengthening mental health services globally and promoting psychosocial wellbeing among high-risk populations.

/pdf/mental-health-outcomes-of-quarantine-and-isolation-for-4t9vk9oobc.pdf

Mental Health Outcomes of Quarantine and Isolation for Infection Prevention: A Systematic Umbrella Review of the Global Evidence

Background: Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a major global health concern due to its pathogenicity and widespread distribution around the world. Despite a growing interest, little is known about the current state of research on COVID-19. This bibliometric study evaluated the contemporary scientific literature to assess the evolution of knowledge on COVID-19, identify the leading research stakeholders, and analyze the conceptual areas of knowledge development in this domain. Methods: Bibliometric data on COVID-19 related studies published until April 1, 2020, were retrieved from Web of Science core collection. Further, a quantitative evaluation and visualizations of knowledge areas in COVID-19 research were created by statistical and text-mining approaches using bibliometric tools and R software. Results: A total of 422 citations were retained in this study, including journal articles, reviews, letters, and other publications. The mean number of authors and citations per document was 3.91 and 2.47, respectively. Also, the top ten articles, authors, and journals were identified based on the frequencies of citations and publications. Networks of contributing authors, institutions, and countries were visualized in maps, which highlight discrete developments in research collaborations. Major areas identified through evaluating keywords and text data included genetic, epidemiological, zoonotic, and other biological topics associated with COVID-19. Conclusions: Current status of COVID-19 research shows early development in different areas of knowledge. More research should be conducted in less-explored areas, including socioeconomic determinants and impacts of COVID-19. Also, global research collaboration should be encouraged for strengthening evidence-based decision-making preventing and addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath.

/pdf/current-status-of-global-research-on-novel-coronavirus-16bea2sxka.pdf

Current Status of Global Research on Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): A Bibliometric Analysis and Knowledge Mapping

Background: Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first identified in China, which eventually became a major global health concern due to its pathogenicity and widespread distribution around the world. Despite a growing interest in COVID-19 across populations, little is known about the current state of knowledge on COVID-19, which can inform how much is known about this problem. This bibliometric study evaluated the contemporary scientific literature to assess the evolution of knowledge on COVID-19, identify the leading research stakeholders, and analyze the conceptual areas of knowledge development in this domain. 

Methods: Bibliometric data on COVID-19 related studies published until April 1, 2020, were retrieved from three major databases within Web of Science core collection. Further, a quantitative evaluation was conducted to assess the characteristics of the current studies and create visualizations of knowledge areas in COVID-19 research by statistical and text-mining approaches using bibliometric tools and R software. 

Results: A total of 422 citations were retained in this study, including journal articles, reviews, letters, and other publications. The mean number of authors and citations per document was 3.91 and 2.47, respectively. Also, the top ten articles, authors, and journals were identified based on the frequencies of citations and publications. Networks of contributing authors, institutions, and countries were visualized in maps, which highlight discrete developments in research collaborations. Major areas identified through evaluating keywords and text data included genetic, epidemiological, zoonotic, and other biological topics associated with COVID-19.

Conclusions: Current status of COVID-19 research shows varying progress in different areas of knowledge. However, more research should be conducted in less-explored areas, including socioeconomic determinants and impacts of COVID-19. Also, research collaboration should be encouraged among global nations to mobilize shared resources. Lastly, the global knowledge base should be strengthened for evidence-based decision-making preventing and addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath around the world.

Background: Geographic information science (GIS) has established itself as a distinct domain and incredibly useful whenever the research is related to geography, space, and other spatio-temporal dimensions. However, the scientific landscape on the integration of GIS in COVID-related studies is largely unknown. In this systematic review, we assessed the current evidence on the implementation of GIS and other geospatial tools in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We systematically retrieved and reviewed 79 research articles that either directly used GIS or other geospatial tools as part of their analysis. We grouped the identified papers under six broader thematic groups based on the objectives and research questions of the study- environmental, socio-economic, and cultural, public health, spatial transmission, computer-aided modeling, and data mining. Results: The interdisciplinary nature of how geographic and spatial analysis was used in COVID-19 research was notable among the reviewed papers. Although GIS has substantial potential in planning to slow down the spread, surveillance, contact tracing, and identify the trends and hotspots of breakdowns, it was not employed as much as it could have been. This review not only provided an overarching view on how GIS has been used in COVID-19 research so far but also concluded that this geospatial analysis and technologies could be used in future public health emergencies along with statistical and other socio-economic modeling techniques. Our systematic review also provides how both scientific communities and policymakers could leverage GIS to extract useful information to make an informed decision in the future. Conclusions: Despite the limited applications of GIS in identifying the nature and spatio-temporal pattern of this raging pandemic, there are opportunities to utilize these techniques in handling the pandemic. The use of spatial analysis and GIS could significantly improve how we understand the pandemic as well as address the underserviced demographic groups and communities.

Applications of GIS and geospatial analyses in COVID-19 research: A systematic review

Objectives To evaluate the data breaches incidents in the U.S. between 2010 and 2018, identify the characteristics of breaches involving more than a million records, and compare the changes before and after wide adoption of EHR in 2015. Materials and methods Incidents of data breaches between 2010 to 2018 were retrieved from the Office of Civil Rights portal. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed to assess the trends and characteristics, and changes between states from 2015 to 2018 were assessed and mapped. Results From 2010 to 2018, a total of 2,529 breaches affected 194.74 million individual records. Overall, 72.08% incidents involved healthcare providers; theft (32.94%) and hacking (22.7%) were major types of breaches. Large cases affecting more than a million records happened due to compromised internal structures and systems. After 2015, the magnitude of the data breaches has changed at varying levels in the U.S. states necessitating further research and actions.

Md. Mahbub Hossain

Papers

Epidemiology of mental health problems in COVID-19: a review.

Current Status of Global Research on Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): A Bibliometric Analysis and Knowledge Mapping

Current Status of Global Research on Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): A Bibliometric Analysis and Knowledge Mapping

Applications of GIS and geospatial analyses in COVID-19 research: A systematic review

Trends and characteristics of protected health information breaches in the United States.