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
Review
. 2021 Jul 19:12:631008.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.631008. eCollection 2021.

Emergent Crisis of COVID-19 Pandemic: Mental Health Challenges and Opportunities

Amir Radfar  1 , Maria M Ferreira  2 , Juan P Sosa  3 , Irina Filip  4
Affiliations
Review

Emergent Crisis of COVID-19 Pandemic: Mental Health Challenges and Opportunities

Amir Radfar et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Mental health is a fundamental human right and is part of the well-being of society. The public health burden of mental health disorders affects people's social and economic status around the world. Coronavirus's (COVID-19) negative impact on the economy and mental health worldwide is concerning. This is a worldwide emergency, and there is an urgent need for research about this topic to prevent long-lasting adverse effects on the population. Unpreparedness and inconsistencies in guidelines, lockdowns, containment strategies, unemployment, financial losses, physical distancing, isolation, chaos, and uncertainty are among factors that lead to a rise in emotional distress, anxiety, and depression. Governments' decisions affect the socioeconomic status of a country and the psychological well-being of the people. COVID-19 pandemic exposed disparities in multiple mental health care systems by having adverse mental health effects in people with pre-existing mental health disorders and previously healthy individuals. Aggregation of concurrent or cumulative comorbid risk factors for COVID-19 disease and its psychosocial sequelae could provide invaluable information for the public health stakeholders. This review aims to address the burden and the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges and opportunities facing mental health systems, and proposes new strategies to improve the mental health outcomes in the post-COVID era.

Keywords: COVID-19; economic crisis; mental health; mental health services; pandemic; policy development; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. World Health Organization . Promoting Mental Health: Concepts, Emerging Evidence, Practice (Summary Report). Geneva: World Health Organization. (2004). Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/promoting_mhh.pdf (accessed October 1, 2020).
    1. Rehm J, Shield KD. Global burden of disease and the impact of mental and addictive disorders. Curr Psychiatry. (2019) 21:10. 10.1007/s11920-019-0997-0 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) . Infographic State Burden Mental-Health Risk Profile. Seattle, WA: IHME, University of Washington. (2016). Retrieved from: http://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/files/infographics/Infogra... (accessed September 24, 2020).
    1. Scarbrough JA. The growing importance of mental health parity. Am J Law Med. (2018) 44:453–74. 10.1177/0098858818789432 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration . Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results From the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/cbhsq-reports/NSDUHNatio... (accessed October 1, 2020).

LinkOut - more resources