Policy stringency and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of data from 15 countries.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To date, public health policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have been evaluated on the basis of their ability to reduce transmission and minimise economic harm. We aimed to assess the association between COVID-19 policy restrictions and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

In this longitudinal analysis, we combined daily policy stringency data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker with psychological distress scores and life evaluations captured in the Imperial College London-YouGov COVID-19 Behaviour Tracker Global Survey in fortnightly cross-sections from samples of 15 countries between April 27, 2020, and June 28, 2021. The mental health questions provided a sample size of 432 642 valid responses, with an average of 14 

SUBMITTER: Aknin LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9023007 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature