COVID & Mental Health

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many jurisdictions, including Canada, have made use of public health measures such as COVID-19 quarantine to reduce the transmission of the virus. To examine associations between these periods of quarantine and mental health, including suicidal ideation and deliberate self-harm, we examined data from a national survey of 3000 Canadian adults distributed between May 14-29, 2020.

Evidence on the population-level mental health impacts of COVID-19 are beginning to amass; however, to date, there are significant gaps in our understandings of whose mental health is most impacted, how the pandemic is contributing to widening mental health inequities, and the coping strategies being used to sustain mental health. This monitoring study highlights the differential mental health impacts of the pandemic for those who experience health, social, and structural inequities.

The aim of this paper is to examine the use of asynchronous virtual mental health resources in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general population and among a participant subgroup classified as experiencing an adverse mental health impact related to the pandemic.