Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound effect on all aspects of society, including mental health and physical health. We explore the psychological, social, and neuroscientific effects of COVID-19 and set out the immediate priorities and longer-term strategies for mental health science research. These priorities were informed by surveys of the public and an expert panel convened by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the mental health research charity, MQ: Transforming Mental Health, in the first weeks of the pandemic in the UK in March, 2020. We urge UK research funding agencies to work with researchers, people with lived experience, and others to establish a high level coordination group to ensure that these research priorities are addressed, and to allow new ones to be identified over time. The need to maintain high-quality research standards is imperative. International collaboration and a global perspective will be beneficial. An immediate priority is collecting high-quality data on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the whole population and vulnerable groups, and on brain function, cognition, and mental health of patients with COVID-19. There is an urgent need for research to address how mental health consequences for vulnerable groups can be mitigated under pandemic conditions, and on the impact of repeated media consumption and health messaging around COVID-19. Discovery, evaluation, and refinement of mechanistically driven interventions to address the psychological, social, and neuroscientific aspects of the pandemic are required. Rising to this challenge will require integration across disciplines and sectors, and should be done together with people with lived experience. New funding will be required to meet these priorities, and it can be efficiently leveraged by the UK's world-leading infrastructure. This Position Paper provides a strategy that may be both adapted for, and integrated with, research efforts in other countries.

Anxiety, depression, attitudes, and internet addiction during the initial phase of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic: A cross-sectional study in México

“…This can lead to additional media consumption and further distress, creating a cycle that can be difficult to break. 37 According to our results internet abuse was also associated to sleep problems and younger age. Roy et al, 20 found that, in Indian population, sleep difficulties, paranoia about acquiring COVID-19 infection and distress related to social media use were reported in 12.5 %, 37.8 %, and 36.4 % participants, respectively.…”

A Nationwide Survey of Psychological Distress among Italian People during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors

“…A recent review of the literature underlined a high prevalence of psychological symptomatology among quarantined individuals [1], including post-traumatic and depressive symptoms, stress, and anxiety [2][3][4][5]. Thus, the present study sought to survey psychological distress in Italy during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, with the aim of establishing the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and identifying risk and protective factors for psychological distress among sociodemographic and personality variables.…”

“…A recent review of the literature on the psychological effects of quarantine during past epidemics and pandemics (e.g., SARS, H1N1, Ebola, MERS, equine influenza) highlighted that, when comparing the psychological outcomes of quarantined versus non-quarantined persons, the former are more likely to show psychological distress [1]. Furthermore, quantitative studies have underlined that quarantined persons have a high prevalence of psychological symptomatology, including post-traumatic and depressive symptoms, stress, and anxiety [2][3][4][5]. A recent study on the impact of the COVID-19 emergency indicated that "53.8% of respondents rated the psychological impact of outbreak as moderate or severe; 16.5% of respondents reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms; 28.8% of respondents reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms; and 8.1% reported moderate to severe stress levels" [6] (p. 21).…”

Protective elements of mental health status during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Portuguese population

“…Our results of severe OC symptoms in 12.4% of the sample might indicate an increase in OC symptoms during the pandemic, but this need to be confirmed by longitudinal analyses. It is important to study the evolution of OC symptoms over time to prevent higher incidence of OC disorder during and after the pandemic (Holmes et al, 2020). Indeed, some studies suggest negative psychological effects months or years after quarantine (Brooks et al, 2020).…”