See the published version of this preprint at BMC Psychiatry.
This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
A new preprint design is coming!
We have improved readability, clarity, accessibility, and opportunities for engagement.
Research article
Nerea Almeda
Universidad Loyola Andalucía
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6477-5142
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Mental health care systems have been dramatically affected by COVID-19. Containment measures have been imposed, with negative consequences on population mental health. Therefore, an increase in both symptomatology and mental disorder incidence is expected. This research aims to identify, describe and assess the empirical background on online strategies and recommendations developed by international organizations and governments to cope with the psychological impact of COVID-19 at a very early stage of the pandemic.
Methods: The PRISMA guidelines were adapted to review online documents. A new questionnaire was developed to identify the existence of common patterns in the selected documents. Questions were classified into three domains: COVID-19 information, mental health strategies and mental health recommendations. A two-step cluster analysis was carried out to highlight underlying behaviours in the data (patterns). The results are shown as spider graphs (pattern profiles) and conceptual maps (multidimensional links between questions).
Results: Twenty-six documents were included in the review. The questionnaire analysed document complexity and identified their common key mental health characteristics (i.e., does the respondent have the tools for dealing with stress, depression and anxiety?). Cluster analysis highlighted patterns from the questionnaire domains. Strong relationships between questions were identified, such as psychological tips for maintaining good mental health and coping with COVID-19 (question nº 4), describing some psychological skills to help people cope with anxiety and worry about COVID-19 (question nº 6) and promoting social connection at home (question nº 8).
Conclusions: When fast results are needed to develop health strategies and policies, rapid reviews associated with statistical and graphical methods are essential. The results obtained from the proposed analytical procedure can be relevant to a) classify documents according to their complexity in structuring the information provided on how to cope with the psychological impact of COVID-19, b) develop new documents according to specific objectives matching population needs, c) improve document design to face unforeseen events, and d) adapt new documents to local situations. In this framework, the relevance of adapting e-mental health procedures to community mental health care model principles was highlighted, although some problems related to the digital gap must be considered.
Keywords
COVID-19, strategies, recommendations, mental health, systematic review.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
Loading...
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
View the published article at BMC Psychiatry.
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Accept
On 13 Dec, 2020
Editor assigned
On 09 Dec, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 09 Dec, 2020
Editor invited
On 09 Dec, 2020
Version 2
Posted 03 Dec, 2020
No comments provided
Review #1 received
Received 02 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 26 Nov, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 24 Nov, 2020
Editor assigned
On 18 Nov, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 18 Nov, 2020
Editor invited
On 18 Nov, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 14 Oct, 2020
Review #3 received
Received 29 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 26 Sep, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 29 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 26 Aug, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 23 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 02 Aug, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 19 Jul, 2020
Editor assigned
On 10 Jul, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 09 Jul, 2020
Editor invited
On 09 Jul, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Psychiatry
Learn more about our company.
A new preprint design is coming!
We have improved readability, clarity, accessibility, and opportunities for engagement.
See the published version of this preprint at BMC Psychiatry.
This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Nerea Almeda
Universidad Loyola Andalucía
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6477-5142
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
View the published article at BMC Psychiatry.
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Accept
On 13 Dec, 2020
Editor assigned
On 09 Dec, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 09 Dec, 2020
Editor invited
On 09 Dec, 2020
Version 2
Posted 03 Dec, 2020
No comments provided
Review #1 received
Received 02 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 26 Nov, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 24 Nov, 2020
Editor assigned
On 18 Nov, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 18 Nov, 2020
Editor invited
On 18 Nov, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 14 Oct, 2020
Review #3 received
Received 29 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 26 Sep, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 29 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 26 Aug, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 23 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 02 Aug, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 19 Jul, 2020
Editor assigned
On 10 Jul, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 09 Jul, 2020
Editor invited
On 09 Jul, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Psychiatry
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published article at BMC Psychiatry.
Background: Mental health care systems have been dramatically affected by COVID-19. Containment measures have been imposed, with negative consequences on population mental health. Therefore, an increase in both symptomatology and mental disorder incidence is expected. This research aims to identify, describe and assess the empirical background on online strategies and recommendations developed by international organizations and governments to cope with the psychological impact of COVID-19 at a very early stage of the pandemic.
Methods: The PRISMA guidelines were adapted to review online documents. A new questionnaire was developed to identify the existence of common patterns in the selected documents. Questions were classified into three domains: COVID-19 information, mental health strategies and mental health recommendations. A two-step cluster analysis was carried out to highlight underlying behaviours in the data (patterns). The results are shown as spider graphs (pattern profiles) and conceptual maps (multidimensional links between questions).
Results: Twenty-six documents were included in the review. The questionnaire analysed document complexity and identified their common key mental health characteristics (i.e., does the respondent have the tools for dealing with stress, depression and anxiety?). Cluster analysis highlighted patterns from the questionnaire domains. Strong relationships between questions were identified, such as psychological tips for maintaining good mental health and coping with COVID-19 (question nº 4), describing some psychological skills to help people cope with anxiety and worry about COVID-19 (question nº 6) and promoting social connection at home (question nº 8).
Conclusions: When fast results are needed to develop health strategies and policies, rapid reviews associated with statistical and graphical methods are essential. The results obtained from the proposed analytical procedure can be relevant to a) classify documents according to their complexity in structuring the information provided on how to cope with the psychological impact of COVID-19, b) develop new documents according to specific objectives matching population needs, c) improve document design to face unforeseen events, and d) adapt new documents to local situations. In this framework, the relevance of adapting e-mental health procedures to community mental health care model principles was highlighted, although some problems related to the digital gap must be considered.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
Loading...