Autho
yea
Journal
Type of study
Location of study
Population and Sample size
Objectives of study
Interventions of mapping
Outcome
Limitations of study
Ransing et al., 2020
Elsevier: Asian Journal of Psychiatry
Semi structured questionnaire
16 countries that cover all the WHO regions
Early caree
psychiatrists
To develop a conceptual framework to address mental health care during pandemics from psychiatrists’ perspective
Psychological first aid (PFA)
Special cells or clinics for mental health
Health care technology for assessment and monitoring
sustainability of mental health services
media and digital support group
Provides a means by which national health care stakeholders prepare for potential rise in mental health issues
Further validation of the research work is lacking
Need to construct analytic strategies
Bertuzzi et al., 2021
International Journal of
Environmental Research
and Public Health
Systematic review: pre–post comparative design was adopted
Studies conducted in China and Italy
Health care professionals, informal carers:
sample size varied widely
among studies, from a minimum of 34 to a maximum of 508 participants
(6 to 12 weeks)
Efficacy of psychological interventions to support HCPs and informal
caregivers during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
psychological support interventions developed for HCPs were aimed at promoting
positive emotions, maintaining teamwork efficacy, preventing burnout, reducing
distress, and improving well-being
Digital psychological interventions
Care service telehealth
Online skype therapy
Video conferencing
Phone calls
The results revealed that digital psychological interventions
were not only feasible, but also efficient in providing psychological support.
Lack of generalization as the subjects were only from the selected countries.
Fredericks et al., 2020
Elsevier: Brain, Behavior, & Immunity-Health
Cohort Study: Descriptive analysis
·
Physicians, health care providers, general population, students
To determine which of the strategies o
therapies presented among the resources were evidence-based, thus,
having the potential to benefit this cohort
Guided meditation, blogs podcasts
Virtual li
ary with self-care modules
Audio-video resources with computer assisted self-care strategies
free online mindful exercises
phone consultations
Psychological symptoms were easily managed
Helped in reducing stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress
Phone consultations helped in enhance resilience and psychological wellbeing
The reviewers might have missed potentially relevant sources of information since they were unaware of recent intervention studies addressing stress, exhaustion, and wellbeing because they did not have institutional access to all clinical and academic internally facing intranet sites
Kohrt.B.A., 2021
The Lancet psychiatry
Randomized control trial
USA
General population
(n=126)
To identify mental health of global people after the pandemic
Psychological first aid training
Evidence shows that attending stress and anxiety relieving programs has been increased
Data could not be generalised
Cullen. W. et al., 2020
An international journal of medicine
Questionnaire study
China
General population 1210 participants
Mental health observations during the pandemic
Psychological interventions through smartphone technologies
This approach shows viable outcomes in enhancing mental health
·
Cui et al., 2022
BMC medical research methodology
Multiple imputations by chained equations (MICE)
USA
healthcare workers n=1032343
Alleviating impacts of pandemic on mental health and economy
12-week sessions for anxiety relief programs
It identifies specific groups who are vulnerable to covid-19 pandemic
·
Pollock. A.,2021
PMC Article
Risk of bias tool and Critical appraisal skills programme (CASP)
USA
frontline workers
To find the resilience and mental health of the frontline workers and professionals
Online mindfulness programs
Study proves that online programs for mental health helps frontline workers
Online module so participants could not be observed
Muller et al; 2020
Psychiatry Research
AMSTAR tool and CASP checklist
USA
Health care workers
To find mental health impact of the covid-19 pandemic on healthcare workers
Mobile mental care apps
Participants not able to be observed
By increasing awareness in mental health apps in mobile phone, healthcare workers can increase their digital literacy on mental health
Alvarado-Garcia., et al. (2022)
Indian Journal of Psychiatry
A quasi-experimental study
Peru
Health sciences students from a public university ,62 participants
This study aimed to determine the effect of a mindfulness-based online intervention for mental health during times of COVID-19
a 12-session mindfulness online program (12-week program)
There is evidence of a potential for the use of mindfulness program to reduce stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in stressful situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic
The results are limited to the context studied due to the small sample size
Camilleri, C., et al. (2021)
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Cross sectional study
USA
University students
(n=676)
To investigate the mediation of coping mechanisms on the relationship between the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health.
Brief COPE coping mechanism
4-week survey
The positive coping methods examined in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and secondary interventions adopted were shown to have a reduced buffering influence on adverse mental health outcomes.
Controlling for other intervention factors was not performed
Cha
onnier, E., et al. (2022).
National Li
ary of Medicine
a non-randomized controlled study
France
University students
(n=114)
The effects on mental health of an online program that targeted stress management and learning
an online program that targeted stress management and learning strategies
(8-week program)
Means comparisons at 8 weeks showed that the intervention group had less anxiety and learned helplessness than the control group did.
Further research efforts are needed to confirm the beneficial effects of this type of program among university students.
Devillers-Réolon, 2022
Frontiers in Psychology
A Randomized Controlled Trial
France
University students
Study investigated the impact of these restrictions on mental and cognitive health of university students, and tested the efficacy of a
ief online mindfulness meditation intervention in countering psychological distress and improving attentional abilities
online mindfulness meditation intervention
This study provides more proof of the viability and effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for students during emotionally trying times, such as the COVID-19 epidemic.
The tested mindfulness intervention did not enhance the attentional abilities in already good performing students, it did promote their mental health
Drissi, N., et al. (2020)
National Li
ary of Medicine
Two-Part Questionnaire Study
United Arab Emirates
University Students
The objectives of this study were to assess the psychological effects of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 out
eak on university students
mobile mental health care apps
By raising their awareness of mental health care apps, university students in the UAE can increase their digital health literacy.
Lack of digital literacy
Krifa et al., 2021
Applied Psychology: Health and Well being
Two-armed randomized controlled trial
Tunisia
healthcare students
The aim of the cu
ent study was to assess the effectiveness of an 8-week Internet-based positive psychology intervention for healthcare students
8-week Internet-based positive psychology intervention
The results showed a significant improvement immediately after the intervention compared
to the control group,
Sample of one university, hence results could not be generalized, mainly the participants were women, CARE program is a general mental health promotion program which was not specifically designed for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Li & Liu, 2021
Iranian Journal of Public Health
Two-armed randomized controlled trial
China
Adolescents, students’ volunteers
N=126
To explore the impact of combined solution-focused theory and video health education on adolescents’ mental health.
solution-focused theory and video health education
the effect on the intervention group was better than the control group
·
Kubo et al., 2022),
National Li
ary of Medicine
randomized controlled experiment
Japan
School children
Interaction effects were observed only for depression, indicating a significant effect in the intervention group
self-monitoring and psychoeducation for COVID-19
These findings suggest that a single school-based intervention that includes self-monitoring and psychoeducation for COVID-19 can help improve children’s mental health.
The analyses did not control for age or grade level.
Celia et al., 2022
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Posttest research design
Italia
University students
(32 students)
The findings demonstrated that following the intervention, subjective well-being, positive affect, and future time perspective all considerably rose.
Online individual psychological counseling intervention
5 interviews
The study reveals the online counselling intervention's positive effects and how effective it is at enhancing university students' mental health.
The lack of a control group did not
allow to draw definitive conclusions regarding the effects of intervention
Characteristics of the Included studies
The selected studies were conducted in China, Italy, USA, France, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates. The sample size varies in the studies from minimum of (32 students) to a maximum of () participants. All the investigations included participants of both genders. The length of the interventions ranged from 4 to 12 weeks. The majority of the studies were randomized control design (5), one was cross sectional study design, questionnaire, quasi experimental study, some use critical appraisal skill program and AMSTAR tool to collect the data.
Results
As of today, there are numerous studies that discuss the impact of COVID 19 and the mental impact, however only a few discuss the interventions that particularly discuss the mental health interventions. We identified 494 studies coded to the topic mental health interventions in the time of Covid -19 in developed and developing countries. Our data base keyword search identified 181 relevant studies through Scopus, PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar. After screening, 181 studies were selected for retrieval out of which 2 studies were not retrieved due to unavailability. Also, the studies with insufficient data were excluded. Of the total 17 articles met our inclusion criteria for this systematic review.
Mental health interventions
The selected studies report different types of mental health interventions to prevent or reduce mental health problems caused by the covid 19 pandemic among different types of populations like healthcare professionals, general populations in different countries. These interventions can be loosely divided into those targeting organizational structures, those facilitating team/collegial support and those addressing individual complaints or strategies.
In terms of health care professional in the developing countries, they got two-week quarantine
eak during 2- or 3-week regular shifts which helped them to recover from the stress, wo
ies and fear of infection. Moreover, a telephone-based hotline enables people to talk with psychologists and psychiatrists to discuss their fears.
Out of 17 studies, 11 studies have used online interventions, 3 have used smartphone applications, one has used self-monitoring and psychoeducation for COVID-19, one included Psychological first aid training and one included anxiety relief program. It was anticipated that mental health issues would worsen during and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and digital tools and online programs could provide a variety of mental health treatments to meet the particular and immediate needs of individuals.
Psychological support interventions for healthcare professionals
The research by Bertuzzi et al., 2021 has mentioned digital format interventions with inclusion of face-to-face interactions, and music therapy treatment for HCPs to reduce stress and anxiety which reported a positive outlook and reduction in the problems. Moreover, a 12 week mindfulness programs for Health science students also showed reduction in stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in stressful situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic which was measured by Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Zung Self Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) with , moderate changes in anxiety (d = 0.849, g = XXXXXXXXXXand depression (d = 0.533, g = XXXXXXXXXXwere found, as well as important changes in stress reduction (d = 1.254, g = XXXXXXXXXXAlvarado et al., 2022).
The research studies by Fredericks et al., (2020b), Krifa et al., XXXXXXXXXXand Ransing et al., (2020b) mainly focused on the mental health problems and effective psychological interventions in context of COVID-19. The interventions used in these research include:
· Mental Health Surveillance System (MHSS)
· Psychological first aid (PFA)
· Special cells or clinics for mental health
· Training
· The CARE (Coherence, Attention, Relationship, and Engagement) program
· Meditation, mindfulness, Physical exercise, Relaxation therapy
· Deep Breathing, Cognitive behavioral therapy, Music, Virtual tou
These studies suggested that online positive psychology interventions may be a practical way to lower mental health risks in a student population amid a worldwide disaster like the Covid-19 out
eak.
Similarly, Muller et al., (2020), has described mental health interventions into those targeting organizational structure, those facilitating team/collegial support, and those addressing individual complaints or strategies. Table 1 showed the interventions in detail.
Table 1: Showed the interventions for healthcare workers by Muller et al., (2020)
Organizational adjustments
Comprehensive Psychological interventions
shortened shifts
telephone-based hotline with trained psychiatrists/psychologists
Collegial support
One hour video support call to reflect strengths and coping strategies
Individual strategies
Online questionnaire to request psychological support
Family support
Lastly, the research from Pollock et al., (2020), aimed at assessing the effect of interventions to support frontline health and social care professional and their ba
iers. The interventions mentioned in this study included giving employees accurate information about their jobs, taking regular
eaks, getting enough rest and sleep, eating a healthy diet, exercising, getting support from friends and family, avoiding using unhealthy coping mechanisms like alcohol and drugs, limiting social media use, and seeking professional counselling or psychological services. They have used Randomized trials, non-randomized trials, controlled trials and inte
upted time series to check whether these interventions were successful. However, lack of both quantitative and qualitative evidence was unavailable to measure the success of intervantions.
Psychological support interventions for general population
According to research (Manilleri et al., 2021), depending on the coping methods used, the response could be favorably or negatively influenced by the coping strategy (such as problem- or emotion-focused coping), which in turn could have various impacts on the mental health of the person. However, their research concluded that effective coping strategies examined (problem-focused, emotion-focused) have no effect in reducing the detrimental effects on mental health in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic and have proposed that counselling centers are necessary with education to build character in times of pandemic to overcome stress, anxiety and depression. A study by Celia et al., 2022, used online and face to face counselling which confirmed significant decrease