Open AccessUsing Rapid Research Implementation and Collaborations to Assess the Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Community and Clinical Cohorts
Author(s) -
Samantha S. Corley,
Christina Gillezeau,
Lucero Molina,
Naomi Alpert,
Adriana Eugene,
Wil LiebermanCribbin,
Joseph Rapp,
Laura Ryniker,
Pooja Shaam,
Stephanie Tuminello,
Adam Gonzalez,
Emanuela Taioli,
Rebecca M. Schwartz
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
disaster medicine and public health preparedness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.492
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1938-744X
pISSN - 1935-7893
DOI - 10.1017/dmp.2021.121
Subject(s) - mental health , pandemic , depression (economics) , anxiety , cohort , covid-19 , cohort study , medicine , metropolitan area , psychiatry , psychology , gerontology , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
A research initiative was launched during the initial coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak by 3 New York metropolitan area institutions. Collaborators recruited community members and patients from previous research studies to examine COVID-19 experiences and mental health symptoms through self-report surveys. The current report descriptively presents findings from the initial survey characterized by both community and clinical cohorts, and discusses challenges encountered with rapid implementation. The clinical cohort exhibited higher rates of symptoms of mental health difficulties (depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) as compared to the community cohort. COVID-19 positivity rates were similar among both groups and lower than the national average. While both groups reported low rates of job loss, community members reported higher rates of financial difficulty resulting from the pandemic. Findings indicate the need for further collaborative research on the mental health impact of COVID-19.