COVID-19 and mental health: A review of the existing literature.

Background: Student mental health in higher education has been an increasing concern. The COVID-19 pandemic situation has brought this vulnerable population into renewed focus.
Objective: Our study aims to conduct a timely assessment of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of college students.
Methods: We conducted interview surveys with 195 students at a large public university in the United States to understand the effects of the pandemic on their mental health and well-being. The data were analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods.
Results: Of the 195 students, 138 (71%) indicated increased stress and anxiety due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Multiple stressors were identified that contributed to the increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depressive thoughts among students. These included fear and worry about their own health and of their loved ones (177/195, 91% reported negative impacts of the pandemic), difficulty in concentrating (173/195, 89%), disruptions to sleeping patterns (168/195, 86%), decreased social interactions due to physical distancing (167/195, 86%), and increased concerns on academic performance (159/195, 82%). To cope with stress and anxiety, participants have sought support from others and helped themselves by adopting either negative or positive coping mechanisms.
Conclusions: Due to the long-lasting pandemic situation and onerous measures such as lockdown and stay-at-home orders, the COVID-19 pandemic brings negative impacts on higher education. The findings of our study highlight the urgent need to develop interventions and preventive strategies to address the mental health of college students.

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Effects of COVID-19 on College Students' Mental Health in the United States: Interview Survey Study.

Background Along with its high infectivity and fatality rates, the 2019 Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) has caused universal psychosocial impact by causing mass hysteria, economic burden and financial losses. Mass fear of COVID-19, termed as “coronaphobia”, has generated a plethora of psychiatric manifestations across the different strata of the society. So, this review has been undertaken to define psychosocial impact of COVID-19. Methods Pubmed and GoogleScholar are searched with the following key terms- “COVID-19”, “SARS-CoV2”, “Pandemic”, “Psychology”, “Psychosocial”, “Psychitry”, “marginalized”, “telemedicine”, “mental health”, “quarantine”, “infodemic”, “social media” and” “internet”. Few news paper reports related to COVID-19 and psychosocial impacts have also been added as per context. Results Disease itself multiplied by forced quarantine to combat COVID-19 applied by nationwide lockdowns can produce acute panic, anxiety, obsessive behaviors, hoarding, paranoia, and depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the long run. These have been fueled by an “infodemic” spread via different platforms of social media. Outbursts of racism, stigmatization, and xenophobia against particular communities are also being widely reported. Nevertheless, frontline healthcare workers are at higher-risk of contracting the disease as well as experiencing adverse psychological outcomes in form of burnout, anxiety, fear of transmitting infection, feeling of incompatibility, depression, increased substance-dependence, and PTSD. Community-based mitigation programs to combat COVID-19 will disrupt children’s usual lifestyle and may cause florid mental distress. The psychosocial aspects of older people, their caregivers, psychiatric patients and marginalized communities are affected by this pandemic in different ways and need special attention. Conclusion For better dealing with these psychosocial issues of different strata of the society, psychosocial crisis prevention and intervention models should be urgently developed by the government, health care personnel and other stakeholders. Apt application of internet services, technology and social media to curb both pandemic and infodemic needs to be instigated. Psychosocial preparedness by setting up mental organizations specific for future pandemics is certainly necessary.

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Psychosocial impact of COVID-19.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a public health emergency of international concern. Telehealth is an effective option to fight the outbreak of COVID-19. The aim of this systematic review was to identify the role of telehealth services in preventing, diagnosing, treating, and controlling diseases during COVID-19 outbreak. This systematic review was conducted through searching five databases including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and Science Direct. Inclusion criteria included studies clearly defining any use of telehealth services in all aspects of health care during COVID-19 outbreak, published from December 31, 2019, written in English language and published in peer reviewed journals. Two reviewers independently assessed search results, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the included studies. Quality assessment was based on the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) checklist. Narrative synthesis was undertaken to summarize and report the findings. Eight studies met the inclusion out of the 142 search results. Currently, healthcare providers and patients who are self-isolating, telehealth is certainly appropriate in minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. This solution has the potential to prevent any sort of direct physical contact, provide continuous care to the community, and finally reduce morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 outbreak. The use of telehealth improves the provision of health services. Therefore, telehealth should be an important tool in caring services while keeping patients and health providers safe during COVID-19 outbreak.

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The role of telehealth during COVID-19 outbreak: a systematic review based on current evidence.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic, with over 720,000 cases reported in more than 203 countries as of 31 March. The response strategy included early diagnosis, patient isolation, symptomatic monitoring of contacts as well as suspected and confirmed cases, and public health quarantine. In this context, telemedicine, particularly video consultations, has been promoted and scaled up to reduce the risk of transmission, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Based on a literature review, the first conceptual framework for telemedicine implementation during outbreaks was published in 2015. An updated framework for telemedicine in the COVID-19 pandemic has been defined. This framework could be applied at a large scale to improve the national public health response. Most countries, however, lack a regulatory framework to authorize, integrate, and reimburse telemedicine services, including in emergency and outbreak situations. In this context, Italy does not include telemedicine in the essential levels of care granted to all citizens within the National Health Service, while France authorized, reimbursed, and actively promoted the use of telemedicine. Several challenges remain for the global use and integration of telemedicine into the public health response to COVID-19 and future outbreaks. All stakeholders are encouraged to address the challenges and collaborate to promote the safe and evidence-based use of telemedicine during the current pandemic and future outbreaks. For countries without integrated telemedicine in their national health care system, the COVID-19 pandemic is a call to adopt the necessary regulatory frameworks for supporting wide adoption of telemedicine.

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Global Telemedicine Implementation and Integration Within Health Systems to Fight the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action.

Xiaoyun Zhou, MMH Centaine L. Snoswell, PhD, MPH, BPharm, Louise E. Harding, DipMLS, Matthew Bambling, PhD, Sisira Edirippulige, PhD, Xuejun Bai, PhD, and Anthony C. Smith, PhD, MEd, BN, RN Centre for Online Health, Centre for Health Services Research; Centre for Health Services Research; and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Academy of Behavior and Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China. Centre for Innovative Medical Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.

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The Role of Telehealth in Reducing the Mental Health Burden from COVID-19.

ObjectivesThis systematic review aims to examine the effectiveness of online mental health interventions for youth.MethodsWe searched seven electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, ...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1357633X211047285

Are online mental health interventions for youth effective? A systematic review.

IntroductionDigital health – the convergence of digital technologies within health and health care to enhance the efficiency of health-care delivery – is fast becoming an integral part of routine m

Medical students’ perceptions and expectations regarding digital health education and training: A qualitative study:

The benefits that digital health may offer include clinical, administrative, research, and educational. Research shows that if used in the right circumstances, digital health may increase access to healthcare services, improve clinical outcomes, safety, and quality of care. Digital health also has the potential to improve organisational efficiencies by reducing duplication and unnecessary diagnostic testing. From a healthcare consumer perspective, there is an expectation that healthcare services need to be provided in a more flexible and cost-effective way as in other spheres such as banking, commerce, and media. This is another important driver for consideration to integrate digital health in healthcare services. As digital health continues to be used in routine healthcare services, practitioners may require new knowledge, skills, and competencies to make the best use of this innovative method. Education and training relating to digital health have been recognised as a priority for developing the future healthcare workforce.

Workforce Readiness and Digital Health Integration

Purpose: Eating disorders (EDs) is a major health condition affecting 9% of the global population and 10% of those with EDs lost their lives as a result. Text-based telehealth interventions (TTIs) seem to provide a low-cost and convenient treatment option; however, the evidence is scarce. This study aimed to synthesize evidence relating to the use of TTIs for the management of EDs. Design/methodology/approach: Five databases were searched published between January 2020 and May 2019. The authors used keywords relating to telehealth and EDs. The authors used Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI's) critical appraisal instrument to assess the methodology quality of included studies. Findings: Fifteen studies were included in this mix-method systematic review and assessed for methodology quality. Email, web-based texting, text-messaging and online chat room were used as mode for deliver healthcare for patients with EDs. In the treatment phase, all studies (nine studies; n = 860 participants) showed effectiveness (for RCTs) and usefulness (for non-RCT studies). In the aftercare phase (six studies; n = 364 participants), the results regarding the effectiveness of TTIs were mixed. Two studies showed effectiveness whilst four studies did not find statistically significant change of ED outcomes. Research limitations/implications: The qualities of these studies varied; firstly, 66% (n = 10) of the studies were non-randomized studies (e.g. single-arm trial, case report) with small samples. Moreover, one-fourth (n = 4) of the studies did not use validated instruments or indicate the instrument. Also, half (n = 7) of the studies used TTIs as adjunct to face-to-face treatment or bigger online treatment, it is hard to make conclusion that the changes were due to TTIs' effect. In addition, follow-up rate is not satisfactory, thus results should be interpreted cautiously. Practical implications: TTIs seem to be promising for management of EDs, particularly in the treatment phase. This provides an important treatment option for health practitioners and people with EDs as an alternative or in adjunct with face-to-face services. Originality/value: This is the first review to synthesis the use of TTIs for ED management.

Xiaoyun Zhou

Papers

The Role of Telehealth in Reducing the Mental Health Burden from COVID-19.

Are online mental health interventions for youth effective? A systematic review.

Medical students’ perceptions and expectations regarding digital health education and training: A qualitative study:

Workforce Readiness and Digital Health Integration

A mixed-method systematic review of text-based telehealth interventions in eating disorder management