Says who? The significance of sampling in mental health surveys during COVID-19

Pierce, Matthias; McManus, Sally; Jessop, Curtis; John, Ann; Hotopf, Matthew; Ford, Tamsin; Hatch, Stephani L.; Wessely, Simon; Abel, Kathryn M.

doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30237-6

Cited by 366 publications

(388 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…We are aware that the use of an online tool is not the best methodological choice, since it may have excluded elderly people or those living in socially disadvantaged contexts [109]. However, this choice was necessary in order to reach a large portion of Italian population in a short time and in a pandemic situation, when faceto-face contacts are forbidden [110].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the lockdown on the mental health of the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: Results from the COMET collaborative network

et al. 2020

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Background. The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an unprecedented traumatic event influencing the healthcare, economic, and social welfare systems worldwide. In order to slow the infection rates, lockdown has been implemented almost everywhere. Italy, one of the countries most severely affected, entered the "lockdown" on March 8, 2020. Methods. The COvid Mental hEalth Trial (COMET) network includes 10 Italian university sites and the National Institute of Health. The whole study has three different phases. The first phase includes an online survey conducted between March and May 2020 in the Italian population. Recruitment took place through email invitation letters, social media, mailing lists of universities, national medical associations, and associations of stakeholders (e.g., associations of users/ carers). In order to evaluate the impact of lockdown on depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms, multivariate linear regression models were performed, weighted for the propensity score. Results. The final sample consisted of 20,720 participants. Among them, 12.4% of respondents (N = 2,555) reported severe or extremely severe levels of depressive symptoms, 17.6% (N = 3,627) of anxiety symptoms and 41.6% (N = 8,619) reported to feel at least moderately stressed by the situation at the DASS-21. According to the multivariate regression models, the depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms significantly worsened from the week April 9-15 to the week April 30 to May 4 (p < 0.0001). Moreover, female respondents and people with pre-existing mental health problems were at higher risk of developing severe depression and anxiety symptoms (p < 0.0001). Conclusions. Although physical isolation and lockdown represent essential public health measures for containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are a serious threat for mental health and well-being of the general population. As an integral part of COVID-19 response, mental health needs should be addressed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the lockdown on the mental health of the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: Results from the COMET collaborative network

et al. 2020

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“…The number of young people who saw the survey and chose not to participate could not be determined; however, it is plausible that those with a pre-existing interest in mental health and/or experiencing psychological distress would be more likely to respond to the survey, which may have inflated the rates of depression and anxiety. However, this limitation applies to most of the mental health surveys of COVID-19, which have mostly used web-based convenience samples ( Pierce et al., 2020 ). Second, the measures, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adding stress to the stressed: Senior high school students’ mental health amidst the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown in Greece

Giannopoulou

Efstathiou

Triantafyllou

et al. 2021

Psychiatry Research

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Highlights Adolescents facing national entrance university exams experience high levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Anxiety and depressive symptoms increased during the COVID-19 lockdown. Distress experienced during the lockdown predicts the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms. Targeted interventions are imperative to address the needs of young people in future waves of pandemic.

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“…This also limits the representativeness and generalizability of findings. However, sample size, as well as the design, should be informed by the purpose of a mental health survey (36). In this case, it was to quickly gather information to generate ideas, suggesting that rapid, low-cost convenience sampling may be acceptable (36).…”

Section: Strengths Limitations and Next Stepsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, sample size, as well as the design, should be informed by the purpose of a mental health survey (36). In this case, it was to quickly gather information to generate ideas, suggesting that rapid, low-cost convenience sampling may be acceptable (36). The need is engendered by the paucity of data on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on visitors to RCFs.…”

Section: Strengths Limitations and Next Stepsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 Nursing Home Restrictions on Visitors of Residents With Cognitive Impairment: A Cross-Sectional Study as Part of the Engaging Remotely in Care (ERiC) Project

et al. 2020

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Background: COVID-19 has disproportionately affected older people. Visiting restrictions introduced since the start of the pandemic in residential care facilities (RCFs) may impact negatively on visitors including close family, friends, and guardians. We examined the effects of COVID-19 visiting restrictions on measures of perceived loneliness, well-being, and carer quality of life (QoL) amongst visitors of residents with and without cognitive impairment (CI) in Irish RCFs. Conclusion: This survey suggests that many RCF visitors experienced low psychosocial and emotional well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown. Visitors of residents with CI report significantly poorer well-being as measured by the WHO-5 than those without. Additional research is required to understand the importance of disrupted caregiving roles resulting from visiting restrictions on well-being, particularly on visitors of residents with CI and how RCFs and their staff can support visitors to mitigate these.

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Says who? The significance of sampling in mental health surveys during COVID-19

Cited by 366 publications

References 6 publications

Effects of the lockdown on the mental health of the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: Results from the COMET collaborative network

Effects of the lockdown on the mental health of the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: Results from the COMET collaborative network

Adding stress to the stressed: Senior high school students’ mental health amidst the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown in Greece

Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 Nursing Home Restrictions on Visitors of Residents With Cognitive Impairment: A Cross-Sectional Study as Part of the Engaging Remotely in Care (ERiC) Project

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