Open AccessAnxiety impact during COVID-19: a systematic review
Author(s) -
Patrícia Batista,
Vítor Duque,
Ana Luzio-Vaz,
Anabela Pereira
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of infection in developing countries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.322
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 2036-6590
pISSN - 1972-2680
DOI - 10.3855/jidc.12730
Subject(s) - anxiety , systematic review , inclusion and exclusion criteria , inclusion (mineral) , psychological intervention , psychology , meta analysis , web of science , covid-19 , clinical psychology , medline , scientific literature , medicine , alternative medicine , psychiatry , disease , social psychology , political science , pathology , paleontology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , biology
The COVID-19 epidemic has been causing serious physical, but also psychological effects in society. This systematic review sought to identify studies that describe COVID-19 related anxiety, and to understand the impact of anxiety assessment in defining strategies to be implemented in future studies.
Methodology: This systematic review included cross-sectional studies with no publication year limit. It was performed a systematic search through three databases, namely, PubMed, Science Direct and Web of Science using the descriptors “COVID-19” and “anxiety”. PRISMA criteria reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses were applied. Eligible articles were selected in accordance with inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria were: research articles related with anxiety measurement during the COVID-19 outbreak; interventions to reduce anxiety; and published in English.
Results: From 44 references, just four scientific articles were accepted for inclusion within this review. These studies were analyzed regarding their sample, methodology, instruments used, and its results.
Conclusions: This systematic review was based on published data at the onset of the pandemic, and it could serve as a basis for the development of implementations plans to improve anxiety disorders. The importance of this theme, the implications and potential directions for future investigations will be discussed.