global health issues

• People may experience cognitive and attention deficits (brain fog), anxiety and depression, psychosis, seizures, and even suicidal behavior following COVID-19 infection
• Data suggests that people are more likely to develop mental illness or disorders in the months following COVID-19 infection, including symptoms of PTSD
• People more likely to experience mental illness or disorders during the pandemic

  • People from racial and ethnic minority
  • Mothers and pregnant people
  • People experiencing poverty
  • Children
  • People with disabilities
  • People with pre-existing mental illnesses
  • Health Care Workers
• Online learning in nursing education is not significantly different from blended or face-to-face learning in terms of its impact on knowledge acquisition and attitudes toward learning
• Online Learning caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic brought negative learning attitudes and poorer learning performance compared to classroom learning, especially during the early days of the pandemic
• Learning in the new normal has been a challenge to institutions, more particularly to students and educators
• Not all institutions have the capability to deliver online classes due lack of equipment, technical know-how
• In the Philippines, children in vulnerable groups have no access to quality education and struggle to find distance learning opportunities. About 28 million learners are affected by school closures
• The online learning challenges of college students varied in terms of type and extent. Their greatest challenge was linked to their learning environment at home, while their least challenge was technological literacy and competency
• The COVID-19 pandemic had the greatest impact on the quality of the learning experience and students' mental health
• Insomnia was found to be the most common mental health problem, followed by anxiety, PTSD, depression and stress in healthcare workers in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Post-traumatic stress disorder was the most common mental health disorder reported by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by anxiety, depression, and distress
• Besides the lack of personal protective equipment, frontliners are underpaid and do not get the respect they deserve. They answer "to the call of duty while battling fear and anxiety"
• Exposure to excessive stress, for prolonged periods can have many harmful consequences on the emotional and mental wellbeing of frontline workers, including burnout, triggering mental disorders, unhealthy behaviours, absenteeism, and increased risk of suicide
• COVID-19 vaccination is associated with larger reductions in anxiety or depression symptoms among individuals with lower education levels, who rent their housing, who are not able to telework, and who have children in their household
• The mental health of young people did not significantly improve in the time period after vaccinations became widely available and promoted in Austria and Turkey
• Younger adults and females in particular suffered from the adverse outcomes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic
• An overwhelming majority of Filipinos surveyed currently distrust available COVID-19 vaccines, their efficacy, the cost, and the authenticity of vaccine samples
• Anxiety, depression, irritability, boredom, inattention and fear of COVID-19 are predominant new-onset psychological problems in children during the pandemic. Children with pre-existing behavioral problems have a high probability of worsening of their symptoms
• The review highlights the need for mental health services to address the increased mental health symptoms in people with pre-existing mental illnesses during a pandemic
• Students and unemployed respondents are highly vulnerable to COVID stress and its mental health implications. Men and women did not significantly differ in distress
• The younger age group (16-35 years) reported greater depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms and poorer psychological well-being compared to the older group (36+ years)
• Telephone-delivered psychotherapy has increased utility as a method of service delivery during the pandemic, where barriers may prevent people from receiving in-person treatment
• Telemedicine is suitable to treat mental health problems in the pandemic situation without increasing infection risk
• The top factors contributing to people's stress, anxiety, and depression are financial considerations, health concerns, and inconsistencies in the workplace setup
• Those working from home are 3.7 times more likely to have critical anxiety levels and 6 times more likely to have critical depression levels
• WFH employees face logistical concerns like lack of equipment, longer working hours, unpaid wages, unjust sanctions, and having to shoulder internet/utility costs
• Maintaining work-life balance in a WFH setup is hard, especially when having to take on different roles at different times in the same place
• Women experienced higher stress and exhaustion with working from home compared to men due to familial and domestic responsibilities
• Learning deficits are particularly large among children from low socio-economic backgrounds
• In 2020, schools globally were fully closed for an average of 79 teaching days, while the Philippines has been closed for more than a year, forcing students to enroll in distance learning
• The consequences of school closures - learning loss, mental distress, missed vaccinations, and heightened risk of drop out, child labour, and child marriage - will be felt by many children, especially the youngest learners
• There remains the absence of unified and comprehensive strategies in mitigating the deterioration of the mental health of Filipino children
• Since RA 11036 was passed, the DOH has trained personnel on mental health, and implemented programs on mental health advocacy and responsible media reporting
• After the pandemic lockdowns, the transition from blended learning to in-person classes also created new pressures on students, and bullying remains a serious problem in schools
• Access to mental health care remains limited in the Philippines, with most specialists practicing in urban areas and mental health consultations being an out-of-pocket expense
• Local government units should establish mental health help desks in every barangay to address anxiety and depression resulting from the pandemic
• Suicide incidents increased by 57% in 2020 compared to 2019 in the Philippines
• Only around 5% of the whole health budget was allocated to mental health concerns in the Philippines
• The DOH has launched a multi-sectoral approach for mental health with programs and interventions across various settings, including the NCMH's Crisis Hotline and UP Diliman's free counseling for frontliners