Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan;56(1):13-24.
doi: 10.1007/s00127-020-01924-7. Epub 2020 Aug 17.

Early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health care and on people with mental health conditions: framework synthesis of international experiences and responses

Luke Sheridan Rains #  1 , Sonia Johnson #  2   3 , Phoebe Barnett  4 , Thomas Steare  1 , Justin J Needle  5 , Sarah Carr  6   7 , Billie Lever Taylor  1 , Francesca Bentivegna  1 , Julian Edbrooke-Childs  8 , Hannah Rachel Scott  1 , Jessica Rees  1 , Prisha Shah  7 , Jo Lomani  7   9 , Beverley Chipp  7 , Nick Barber  7 , Zainab Dedat  1 , Sian Oram  10 , Nicola Morant  1 , Alan Simpson  10   11 ; COVID-19 Mental Health Policy Research Unit Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health care and on people with mental health conditions: framework synthesis of international experiences and responses

Luke Sheridan Rains et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has many potential impacts on people with mental health conditions and on mental health care, including direct consequences of infection, effects of infection control measures and subsequent societal changes. We aimed to map early impacts of the pandemic on people with pre-existing mental health conditions and services they use, and to identify individual and service-level strategies adopted to manage these.

Methods: We searched for relevant material in the public domain published before 30 April 2020, including papers in scientific and professional journals, published first person accounts, media articles, and publications by governments, charities and professional associations. Search languages were English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. Relevant content was retrieved and summarised via a rapid qualitative framework synthesis approach.

Results: We found 872 eligible sources from 28 countries. Most documented observations and experiences rather than reporting research data. We found many reports of deteriorations in symptoms, and of impacts of loneliness and social isolation and of lack of access to services and resources, but sometimes also of resilience, effective self-management and peer support. Immediate service challenges related to controlling infection, especially in inpatient and residential settings, and establishing remote working, especially in the community. We summarise reports of swiftly implemented adaptations and innovations, but also of pressing ethical challenges and concerns for the future.

Conclusion: Our analysis captures the range of stakeholder perspectives and experiences publicly reported in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in several countries. We identify potential foci for service planning and research.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Framework synthesis mental health services; Mental health; Pandemic; Service user experiences.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

SJ, AS, SO and SC are grant holders for the NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit. JEC holds grants from NHS England & NHS Improvement outside of the submitted work.

References

    1. Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(3):e203976. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Iqbal MR, Chaudhuri A. COVID-19: results of a national survey of United Kingdom healthcare professionals’ perceptions of current management strategy—a cross-sectional questionnaire study. Int J Surg. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.05.042. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mental Health Foundation (2020) The COVID-19 pandemic, financial inequality and mental health. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/research/coronavirus-mental-hea.... Accessed 26 May 2020
    1. Ipsos MORI (2020) Covid-19 and mental wellbeing. https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/Covid-19-and-mental-wellbeing. Accessed 26 May 2020
    1. Brooks SK, Webster RK, Smith LE, et al. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. Lancet. 2020;395:912–920. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed