Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on Siyan Mental Health Patients Using the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory: Survey Study

Abstract

Background: Recent research has shown that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation on people's mental health are quite extensive, but there are limited studies on the effects of the pandemic on patients with mental health disorders.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals who have previously sought treatment for a mental health disorder.

Methods: This study uses the newly developed Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory (EPII) survey. This tool was designed to assess tangible impacts of epidemics and pandemics across personal and social life domains. From November 9, 2020, to February 18, 2021, a total of 245 adults recruited from a mental health clinic completed the consent form and responded to the survey link from the Siyan Clinical Corporation and Siyan Clinical Research practices located in Santa Rosa, California, USA.

Results: We found that the least affected age group included individuals aged 75 years or older. This was followed closely by the 65- to 75-year-old age group. People with children under the age of 18 years also reported both more negative indicators associated with the pandemic and more positive indicators compared to those without children at home. Gender queer, nonconforming, and transgender individuals may also be at higher risk for more negative impacts associated with the pandemic. When respondents were assessed with regard to their mental health diagnosis, no differences were noted. Substance use also increased during the pandemic.

Conclusions: In conclusion, the data collected here may serve as foundational research in the prevention, care, and treatment of mental health disorders during pandemics such as COVID-19. Populations such as those with previously diagnosed mental health disorders are particularly at risk for negative effects of pandemic-related stressors such as social isolation, especially if they have children in the household, are part of a younger age group, or have substance use disorder. Gender may also be a factor. Further, the EPII survey may prove to be a useful tool in understanding these effects. Overall, these data may be a critical step toward understanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on populations with a mental health diagnosis, which may aid mental health practitioners in understanding the consequences of pandemics on their patients' overall well-being.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04568135; https://ichgcp.net/clinical-trials-registry/NCT04568135.

Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; mental health; pandemic; social isolation; wellness.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

©Anish Shah, Michele Darling, Olivia Arstein-Kerslake, Tiffany Morgan, Aubreen Vance Tovrea, James Young, Helen Laines. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 29.07.2021.

Figures

Figure 1

Average number of negative indicators by age. Respondents who were 75 years of age or older reported the lowest number of negative indicators (mean 14.92) on the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory. The 65- to 75-year-old respondents reported the next lowest number of negative indicators (mean 18.08). Results are shown as mean (displayed on the bars) ± standard error of the mean (whiskers). P values were derived from a Tukey post hoc test.

Figure 2

Negative (A) and positive (B) indicators were analyzed as a function of gender. Gender queer, nonconforming, and transgender individuals reported more negative indicators than men and women, on average. Results are reported as mean (displayed on the bars) ± standard error of the mean (whiskers). P values are overlaid on the figure.

Figure 3

Average number of negative indicators (A) and positive indicators (B) as a function of having children living at home. Respondents with children under 18 years of age living at home (n=80) reported higher numbers of overall negative and positive impacts compared to respondents without children under 18 years of age living at home (n=162). Results are shown as mean (displayed on the bars) ± standard error of the mean (whiskers). P values were calculated from Student t tests.

Figure 4

Average number of negative indicators as a function of mental health diagnosis. Results are shown as mean (displayed on the bars) ± standard error of the mean (whiskers).

Figure 5

Top five positive indicators. The most reported indicator in positive change was "More appreciative of things usually taken for granted," followed by "More quality time with family or friends in person or from a distance".