The psychological impact of COVID-19 in Canada: Effects of social isolation during the initial response.

Canadian public health officials responded to the unprecedented global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by invoking public health measures ranging from extreme (e g , quarantine) to lighter (e g , social distancing) measures Although necessary to mitigate disease spread, the psychological impact of social distancing and isolation is unknown (Wang et al , 2020) The impetus of this study were calls for research to compare the psychological effects of extreme and lighter measures (see Brooks et al , 2020), and our purpose was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on psychological distress to determine whether negative effects were present during the initial stages of social distancing/isolation measures In this study, questionnaire data measuring satisfaction with life, social cohesion, psychological distress, and perceptions of risk was collected from 1381 Canadians during the early days of intense public health measures (31 March through 15 April 2020) Results suggest that even short-term social distancing practices are associated with increased psychological distress, including elevated levels of overall distress, such as panic, emotional disturbances, and depression These results are noteworthy for several reasons: the timing of the distress, the population under investigation, and the fact that the applied mitigation was "lighter" than full quarantines previously studied These findings suggest that after only a short period of time, less restrictive public health measures can lead to psychological distress These results have major significance for government officials in future public health crisis as they judiciously weigh the costs and benefits of applying such measures with various public health guidelines discussed (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) Abstract (French) Les responsables de la sante publique du Canada ont repondu a l'eclosion mondiale sans precedent de la maladie du coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) en invoquant des mesures de sante publique allant des mesures extremes (p ex , la quarantaine) aux mesures plus legeres (p ex , la distanciation sociale) Bien qu'il soit necessaire d'attenuer la propagation de la maladie, on ignore les repercussions psychologiques de la distanciation sociale et de l'isolement (Wang et al , 2020) L'idee de la presente etude est nee a la suite de demandes de recherche visant a comparer les effets psychologiques de mesures extremes et de mesures plus legeres (voir Brooks et al , 2020) Notre objectif etait d'examiner l'impact de la COVID-19 sur la detresse psychologique afin de determiner si des effets negatifs etaient presents au cours des premiers stades des mesures de distanciation sociale / d'isolement Dans cette etude, les donnees du questionnaire mesurant la satisfaction a l'egard de la vie, de la cohesion sociale, de la detresse psychologique et de la perception du risque ont ete recueillies aupres de 1 381 Canadiens au cours des premiers jours d'intenses mesures de sante publique (du 31 mars au 15 avril 2020) Les resultats semblent indiquer que meme les pratiques de distanciation sociale a court terme sont associees a une detresse psychologique accrue, y compris des niveaux eleves de detresse globale, comme la panique, les troubles emotionnels et la depression Ces resultats sont dignes de mention pour plusieurs raisons : le moment de la detresse, la population a l'etude et le fait que l'attenuation appliquee etait plus legere que les quarantaines completes deja etudiees Ces resultats semblent indiquer qu'apres une courte periode, des mesures de sante publique moins restrictives peuvent entrainer une detresse psychologique Ces resultats ont une importance majeure pour les responsables gouvernementaux sur les futures crises de sante publique, alors qu'ils evaluent judicieusement les couts et les avantages de l'application de telles mesures avec les diverses lignes directrices de la sante publique discutees (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Public Significance Statement-During a global infectious disease pandemic, public health measures are often required to slow the spread of the disease Although these measures are necessary, they can have negative effects on mental health Even during the first few weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak, we found that there was a psychological impact on Canadian residents People who perceived that COVID-19 presented a large risk were more likely to feel panic, depression, and emotional disturbances We also found that females and people who were younger were likely to experience more psychological distress Public health officials should keep this in mind when implementing public health measures during potential subsequent waves of the pandemic (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)