scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

COVID-19, Lockdowns and Well-Being: Evidence from Google Trends

TL;DR: Google Trends data is used to test whether COVID-19 and the associated lockdowns implemented in Europe and America led to changes in well-being related topic search-terms, and finds a substantial increase in the search intensity for boredom and a significant increase in searches for loneliness, worry and sadness.
About: This article is published in Journal of Public Economics.The article was published on 2021-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 356 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Population.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors survey the developing and rapidly growing literature on the economic consequences of COVID-19 and the governmental responses, and synthetize the insights emerging from a very large number of studies.
Abstract: The goal of this piece is to survey the developing and rapidly growing literature on the economic consequences of COVID-19 and the governmental responses, and to synthetize the insights emerging from a very large number of studies. This survey: (i) provides an overview of the data sets and the techniques employed to measure social distancing and COVID-19 cases and deaths; (ii) reviews the literature on the determinants of compliance with and the effectiveness of social distancing; (iii) mentions the macroeconomic and financial impacts including the modelling of plausible mechanisms; (iv) summarizes the literature on the socioeconomic consequences of COVID-19, focusing on those aspects related to labor, health, gender, discrimination, and the environment; and (v) summarizes the literature on public policy responses.

400 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that disruption to physical activity is a leading risk factor for depression during the pandemic and restoration of those habits-either naturally or through policy intervention-has limited impact on restoring mental well-being.
Abstract: Using a longitudinal dataset linking biometric and survey data from several cohorts of young adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic ([Formula: see text]), we document large disruptions to physical activity, sleep, time use, and mental health. At the onset of the pandemic, average steps decline from 10,000 to 4,600 steps per day, sleep increases by 25 to 30 min per night, time spent socializing declines by over half to less than 30 min, and screen time more than doubles to over 5 h per day. Over the course of the pandemic from March to July 2020 the proportion of participants at risk for clinical depression ranges from 46% to 61%, up to a 90% increase in depression rates compared to the same population just prior to the pandemic. Our analyses suggest that disruption to physical activity is a leading risk factor for depression during the pandemic. However, restoration of those habits through a short-term intervention does not meaningfully improve mental well-being.

324 citations


Cites background from "COVID-19, Lockdowns and Well-Being:..."

  • ...…as border closures, travel restrictions and lockdowns, have affected labor markets, consumption patterns, and economic activities all over the world [Coibion et al., 2020, Adams-Prassl et al., 2020b, Montenovo et al., 2020, Fetzer et al., 2020b, Brodeur et al., 2020b, Adams-Prassl et al., 2020a]....

    [...]

  • ...…Inc., 2019], sleep [Ong et al., 2020], social distancing [Allcott et al., 2020, Biroli et al., 2020] or mental health [Adams-Prassl et al., 2020b, Brodeur et al., 2020a, Beland et al., 2020, Brooks et al., 2020, Fetzer et al., 2020b,a, Gunnell et al., 2020, Office for National Statistics, Banks…...

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
18 Nov 2021-BMJ
TL;DR: A systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that several personal protective and social measures, including handwashing, mask wearing, and physical distancing are associated with reductions in the incidence covid-19 as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Objective To review the evidence on the effectiveness of public health measures in reducing the incidence of covid-19, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and covid-19 mortality. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Biosis, Joanna Briggs, Global Health, and World Health Organization COVID-19 database (preprints). Eligibility criteria for study selection Observational and interventional studies that assessed the effectiveness of public health measures in reducing the incidence of covid-19, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and covid-19 mortality. Main outcome measures The main outcome measure was incidence of covid-19. Secondary outcomes included SARS-CoV-2 transmission and covid-19 mortality. Data synthesis DerSimonian Laird random effects meta-analysis was performed to investigate the effect of mask wearing, handwashing, and physical distancing measures on incidence of covid-19. Pooled effect estimates with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were computed, and heterogeneity among studies was assessed using Cochran’s Q test and the I2 metrics, with two tailed P values. Results 72 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which 35 evaluated individual public health measures and 37 assessed multiple public health measures as a “package of interventions.” Eight of 35 studies were included in the meta-analysis, which indicated a reduction in incidence of covid-19 associated with handwashing (relative risk 0.47, 95% confidence interval 0.19 to 1.12, I2=12%), mask wearing (0.47, 0.29 to 0.75, I2=84%), and physical distancing (0.75, 0.59 to 0.95, I2=87%). Owing to heterogeneity of the studies, meta-analysis was not possible for the outcomes of quarantine and isolation, universal lockdowns, and closures of borders, schools, and workplaces. The effects of these interventions were synthesised descriptively. Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that several personal protective and social measures, including handwashing, mask wearing, and physical distancing are associated with reductions in the incidence covid-19. Public health efforts to implement public health measures should consider community health and sociocultural needs, and future research is needed to better understand the effectiveness of public health measures in the context of covid-19 vaccination. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42020178692.

270 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the potential consequences in the labour income distribution related to a long-lasting increase in working from home feasibility among Italian employees and found that a positive shift in WFH feasibility would be associated with an increase in average labour income, but this potential benefit would not be equally distributed among employees.
Abstract: In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) became of great importance for a large share of employees since it represents the only option to both continue working and minimise the risk of virus exposure. Uncertainty about the duration of the pandemic and future contagion waves even led companies to view WFH as a 'new normal' way of working. Based on influence function regression methods, this paper explores the potential consequences in the labour income distribution related to a long-lasting increase in WFH feasibility among Italian employees. Results show that a positive shift in WFH feasibility would be associated with an increase in average labour income, but this potential benefit would not be equally distributed among employees. Specifically, an increase in the opportunity to WFH would favour male, older, high-educated, and high-paid employees. However, this 'forced innovation' would benefit more employees living in provinces have been more affected by the novel coronavirus. WFH thus risks exacerbating pre-existing inequalities in the labour market, especially if it will not be adequately regulated. As a consequence, this study suggests that policies aimed at alleviating inequality, like income support measures (in the short run) and human capital interventions (in the long run), should play a more important compensating role in the future.

224 citations


Cites background from "COVID-19, Lockdowns and Well-Being:..."

  • ...In order to limit the number of deaths and hospitalisations due to the novel coronavirus, most governments in developed countries decided to suspend many economic activities and restrict people’s freedom of mobility (Brodeur et al. 2020a, b; Qiu et al. 2020)....

    [...]

  • ...The economic literature on COVID-19 is exploding daily: between March 2020 and June 2020, the Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) released more than 160 working papers on this topic and around 100 were the discussion papers published by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics (Brodeur et al. 2020c)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A review of the evidence indicates that anxiety, depression, and distress increased in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, while suicide rates, life satisfaction, and loneliness remained largely stable throughout the first year of the pandemic.
Abstract: COVID-19 has infected millions of people and upended the lives of most humans on the planet. Researchers from across the psychological sciences have sought to document and investigate the impact of COVID-19 in myriad ways, causing an explosion of research that is broad in scope, varied in methods, and challenging to consolidate. Because policy and practice aimed at helping people live healthier and happier lives requires insight from robust patterns of evidence, this article provides a rapid and thorough summary of high-quality studies available through early 2021 examining the mental-health consequences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Our review of the evidence indicates that anxiety, depression, and distress increased in the early months of the pandemic. Meanwhile, suicide rates, life satisfaction, and loneliness remained largely stable throughout the first year of the pandemic. In response to these insights, we present seven recommendations (one urgent, two short-term, and four ongoing) to support mental health during the pandemic and beyond.

187 citations

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A review of the psychological impact of quarantine using three electronic databases is presented in this article, where the authors report negative psychological effects including post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion, and anger.

10,370 citations

DOI
16 Mar 2020
TL;DR: Neil M Ferguson, Daniel Laydon, Gemma Nedjati-Gilani, Natsuko Imai, Kylie Ainslie, Sangeeta Bhatia, Adhiratha Boonyasiri, Zulma Cucunubá, Gina Cuomo-Dannenburg, Amy Dighe, Ilaria Dorigatti, Han Fu, Katy Gaythorpe, Will Green, Arran Hamlet, Wes Hinsley, Lucy C Okell.
Abstract: The global impact of COVID-19 has been profound, and the public health threat it represents is the most serious seen in a respiratory virus since the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Here we present the results of epidemiological modelling which has informed policymaking in the UK and other countries in recent weeks. In the absence of a COVID-19 vaccine, we assess the potential role of a number of public health measures – so-called non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) – aimed at reducing contact rates in the population and thereby reducing transmission of the virus. In the results presented here, we apply a previously published microsimulation model to two countries: the UK (Great Britain specifically) and the US. We conclude that the effectiveness of any one intervention in isolation is likely to be limited, requiring multiple interventions to be combined to have a substantial impact on transmission. Two fundamental strategies are possible: (a) mitigation, which focuses on slowing but not necessarily stopping epidemic spread – reducing peak healthcare demand while protecting those most at risk of severe disease from infection, and (b) suppression, which aims to reverse epidemic growth, reducing case numbers to low levels and maintaining that situation indefinitely. Each policy has major challenges. We find that that optimal mitigation policies (combining home isolation of suspect cases, home quarantine of those living in the same household as suspect cases, and social distancing of the elderly and others at most risk of severe disease) might reduce peak healthcare demand by 2/3 and deaths by half. However, the resulting mitigated epidemic would still likely result in hundreds of thousands of deaths and health systems (most notably intensive care units) being overwhelmed many times over. For countries able to achieve it, this leaves suppression as the preferred policy option. We show that in the UK and US context, suppression will minimally require a combination of social distancing of the entire population, home isolation of cases and household quarantine of their family members. This may need to be supplemented by school and university closures, though it should be recognised that such closures may have negative impacts on health systems due to increased absenteeism. The major challenge of suppression is that this type of intensive intervention package – or something equivalently effective at reducing transmission – will need to be maintained until a vaccine becomes available (potentially 18 months or more) – given that we predict that transmission will quickly rebound if interventions are relaxed. We show that intermittent social distancing – triggered by trends in disease surveillance – may allow interventions to be relaxed temporarily in relative short time windows, but measures will need to be reintroduced if or when case numbers rebound. Last, while experience in China and now South Korea show that suppression is possible in the short term, it remains to be seen whether it is possible long-term, and whether the social and economic costs of the interventions adopted thus far can be reduced.

2,908 citations


"COVID-19, Lockdowns and Well-Being:..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...Guided by epidemiological models (Ferguson et al., 2020; Lourenço et al., 2020), the rationale for restricting movement is to save as many lives as possible in the short and medium run....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI

2,473 citations


"COVID-19, Lockdowns and Well-Being:..." refers background in this paper

  • ...We here focus on well-being: joblessness, social isolation and the lack of freedom, which are some of the by-products of lockdown, are all well-known risk factors for mental health and unhappiness (Clark and Oswald, 1994; Leigh-Hunt et al., 2017; Verme, 2009)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is highlighted that there is consistent evidence linking social isolation and loneliness to worse cardiovascular and mental health outcomes and Prevention strategies should therefore be developed across the public and voluntary sectors, using an asset-based approach.

1,095 citations


"COVID-19, Lockdowns and Well-Being:..." refers background in this paper

  • ...We here focus on well-being: joblessness, social isolation and the lack of freedom, which are some of the by-products of lockdown, are all well-known risk factors for mental health and unhappiness (Clark and Oswald, 1994; Leigh-Hunt et al., 2017; Verme, 2009)....

    [...]

ReportDOI
TL;DR: The economic downturn caused by the current COVID-19 outbreak has substantial implications for gender equality, both during the downturn and the subsequent recovery as discussed by the authors, which has a particularly large impact on working mothers.
Abstract: The economic downturn caused by the current COVID-19 outbreak has substantial implications for gender equality, both during the downturn and the subsequent recovery. Compared to “regular” recessions, which affect men’s employment more severely than women’s employment, the employment drop related to social distancing measures has a large impact on sectors with high female employment shares. In addition, closures of schools and daycare centers have massively increased child care needs, which has a particularly large impact on working mothers. The effects of the crisis on working mothers are likely to be persistent, due to high returns to experience in the labor market. Beyond the immediate crisis, there are opposing forces which may ultimately promote gender equality in the labor market. First, businesses are rapidly adopting flexible work arrangements, which are likely to persist. Second, there are also many fathers who now have to take primary responsibility for child care, which may erode social norms that currently lead to a lopsided distribution of the division of labor in house work and child care.

955 citations


"COVID-19, Lockdowns and Well-Being:..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…et al., 2020; Brodeur et al., 2020a; Brooks et al., 2020; Fang et al., 2020),4 and more generally the economic consequences of COVID-19 (e.g., Alon et al., 2020; Béland et al., 2020; Berger et al., 2020; Fetzer et al., 2020; Jones et al., 2020; Jordá et al., 2020; Ramelli et al., 2020;…...

    [...]

Trending Questions (1)
Has the pandemic had an effect on mental health?

Our results suggest that people’s mental health may have been severely affected by the pandemic and lockdown.