Impact of COVID-19 on mental health in Northern Ireland
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Impact of COVID-19 on mental health in Northern Ireland
IRAS ID
287826
Contact name
Aideen Maguire
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted greatly on day-to-day life affecting employment, work-life balance, friend and family interactions and health service delivery. It is predicted these changes, along with the threat of infection and effects of the virus itself, will have a major impact on population mental health. Increased isolation, unemployment and financial concerns are known to be associated with an increased risk of poor mental health. Couple that with anxiety, work adjustments, increased home schooling and changes to the delivery of health and mental services and the impact on the mental health of the Northern Ireland population could be catastrophic.
This project aims to explore the impact of the pandemic and subsequent “lockdown” on mental health using administrative data.
Uptake of psychotropic medications, presentations to Emergency Departments with self-harm or suicide ideation and admissions to psychiatric hospital will be used as proxy indicators of mental ill health. Expected trends for 2020 (based on the previous 3 years) will be compared to actual observed trends as the pandemic broke in Northern Ireland and lockdown began right through to medium and longer term outcomes.
A range of demographic and socio-economic factors will be explored to determine if the effects of COVID-19 are felt more greatly amongst certain sub-groups of the population. Of special interest is the effect on those with pre-existing mental ill-health.
Findings from this study will help quantify the mental health impact of the pandemic, identify those most at risk, aid in the generation targeted interventions and inform policy responses.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/YH/0254
Date of REC Opinion
21 Aug 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion