Mental health during COVID-19: an evaluation of an academic university’s contribution to existing research

Abstract

Background:Increases in mental health problems have been observed during COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this topic of research became a priority, especially at the academic level. The objectives of this review were to summarize an institutional contribution to mental health research during the era of COVID-19. Methods: A scoping review of studies conducted at a local university and examining alterations in mental health during the pandemic during the last three years was conducted. Results: Fifty-five studies were included. These focused on different mental health changes that occurred in the era of COVID-19 such as changes in work habits or existing psychological conditions, COVID-19-related fear depression, anxiety and stress. Most of the included studies were observational (76.7%). The majority of the publications were published in Scimago Journal Rank Q1 journals (57.1%). The average number of citations per publication was 15.3±30.13 [0-125]. The number of citations was higher in papers with international collaboration of authors (p=0.031). Publications with COVID-19 as a main objective were more cited than papers not directly related to this subject (25.9±39.45 vs. 4.14±3.2; p=0.044). Conclusion: Mental health problems are a common response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contribution of a local university to different mental health research studies that took place during COVID-19 outbreak have underlined this reality. However, more representative research from other institutional settings will be needed, particularly in vulnerable populations.