skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: The Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Mental Health Care Services
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the rate of mental health disorders, as well as demand for mental health services. It remains unclear, however, the extent to which it impacted access to mental health care. Using data from an audit field experiment, which ran from January to May 2020 and overlapped with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine the impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health care appointments in the United States. We find that increased intensity of COVID-19–measured by daily cases, daily fatalities, and weekly excess deaths–is associated with decreased access to mental health care appointments.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2046642
PAR ID:
10422368
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
AEA Papers and Proceedings
Volume:
113
ISSN:
2574-0768
Page Range / eLocation ID:
420 to 422
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; (, Journal of Medical Internet Research)
    null (Ed.)
    Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused several disruptions in personal and collective lives worldwide. The uncertainties surrounding the pandemic have also led to multifaceted mental health concerns, which can be exacerbated with precautionary measures such as social distancing and self-quarantining, as well as societal impacts such as economic downturn and job loss. Despite noting this as a “mental health tsunami”, the psychological effects of the COVID-19 crisis remain unexplored at scale. Consequently, public health stakeholders are currently limited in identifying ways to provide timely and tailored support during these circumstances. Objective Our study aims to provide insights regarding people’s psychosocial concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic by leveraging social media data. We aim to study the temporal and linguistic changes in symptomatic mental health and support expressions in the pandemic context. Methods We obtained about 60 million Twitter streaming posts originating from the United States from March 24 to May 24, 2020, and compared these with about 40 million posts from a comparable period in 2019 to attribute the effect of COVID-19 on people’s social media self-disclosure. Using these data sets, we studied people’s self-disclosure on social media in terms of symptomatic mental health concerns and expressions of support. We employed transfer learning classifiers that identified the social media language indicative of mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, stress, and suicidal ideation) and support (emotional and informational support). We then examined the changes in psychosocial expressions over time and language, comparing the 2020 and 2019 data sets. Results We found that all of the examined psychosocial expressions have significantly increased during the COVID-19 crisis—mental health symptomatic expressions have increased by about 14%, and support expressions have increased by about 5%, both thematically related to COVID-19. We also observed a steady decline and eventual plateauing in these expressions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have been due to habituation or due to supportive policy measures enacted during this period. Our language analyses highlighted that people express concerns that are specific to and contextually related to the COVID-19 crisis. Conclusions We studied the psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 crisis by using social media data from 2020, finding that people’s mental health symptomatic and support expressions significantly increased during the COVID-19 period as compared to similar data from 2019. However, this effect gradually lessened over time, suggesting that people adapted to the circumstances and their “new normal.” Our linguistic analyses revealed that people expressed mental health concerns regarding personal and professional challenges, health care and precautionary measures, and pandemic-related awareness. This study shows the potential to provide insights to mental health care and stakeholders and policy makers in planning and implementing measures to mitigate mental health risks amid the health crisis. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; (, Science Advances)
    null (Ed.)
    The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic is a collective stressor unfolding over time; yet, rigorous empirical studies addressing its mental health consequences among large probability-based national samples are rare. Between 18 March and 18 April 2020, as illness and death escalated in the United States, we assessed acute stress, depressive symptoms, and direct, community, and media-based exposures to COVID-19 in three consecutive representative samples from the U.S. probability-based nationally representative NORC AmeriSpeak panel across three 10-day periods (total N = 6514). Acute stress and depressive symptoms increased significantly over time as COVID-19 deaths increased across the United States. Preexisting mental and physical health diagnoses, daily COVID-19–related media exposure, conflicting COVID-19 information in media, and secondary stressors were all associated with acute stress and depressive symptoms. Results have implications for targeting public health interventions and risk communication efforts to promote community resilience as the pandemic waxes and wanes over time. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; (, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association)
    Abstract This study provides data on the feasibility and impact of video-enabled telemedicine use among patients and providers and its impact on urgent and nonurgent healthcare delivery from one large health system (NYU Langone Health) at the epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States. Between March 2nd and April 14th 2020, telemedicine visits increased from 102.4 daily to 801.6 daily. (683% increase) in urgent care after the system-wide expansion of virtual urgent care staff in response to COVID-19. Of all virtual visits post expansion, 56.2% and 17.6% urgent and nonurgent visits, respectively, were COVID-19–related. Telemedicine usage was highest by patients 20 to 44 years of age, particularly for urgent care. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven rapid expansion of telemedicine use for urgent care and nonurgent care visits beyond baseline periods. This reflects an important change in telemedicine that other institutions facing the COVID-19 pandemic should anticipate. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; (, American Journal of Health Economics)
    Transgender people, African Americans, and Hispanics face mental health disparities. While mental health care can help, minoritized groups could face discriminatory barriers in accessing it. Discrimination may be particularly pronounced in mental health care because providers have more discretion over accepting patients. Research documents discrimination broadly, including in access to health care, but there is limited empirical research on discrimination in access to mental health care. We provide the first experimental evidence, from a correspondence audit field experiment (“simulated patients” study), of the extent to which transgender and non-binary people, African Americans, and Hispanics face discrimination in access to mental health-care appointments. We find significant discrimination against transgender or non-binary African Americans and Hispanics. We do not find evidence of discrimination against White transgender and non-binary prospective patients. We are mostly inconclusive as to whether cisgender African Americans or Hispanics face discrimination, except we find evidence of discrimination against cisgender African American women. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; (, Frontiers in Public Health)
    IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted civic life, particularly for older adults at increased risk for severe morbidity and mortality. Yet, little is known about the longer-term impacts on their daily routines and how this may affect health and wellbeing. MethodsThis qualitative study utilized data from older US adults who participated in the COVID-19 Coping Study’s three-year follow-up online survey, conducted in April–May 2023. The primary aim was to understandhowandwhydaily routines have changed among older Americans (N = 1,309). ResultsParticipants had an average age of 71 years, with approximately 74% female and 93% identifying as Non-Hispanic White. We conducted content and thematic analysis of open-ended survey responses to identify five key reasons for still-altered routines 3 years after the pandemic onset: (1) COVID-19 risk and exposure, (2) altered access, (3) broader life circumstances, (4) emotional health, and (5) physical health. DiscussionThese findings highlight the enduring impacts of the pandemic on older adults’ routines and underscore the importance of integrating public health strategies that prioritize routine stability to enhance mental, physical, and social health. To support older adults’ wellbeing during and beyond public health emergencies, we recommend strengthening community-based programs, improving access to health and social services, and designing adaptable interventions that help individuals rebuild and maintain meaningful daily routines. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email