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      Tracking the mental health of home-carers during the first COVID-19 national lockdown: evidence from a nationally representative UK survey

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          Abstract

          Background

          Unpaid carers who look after another member of their household (home-carers) have poorer mental health than the general population. The first COVID-19 national lockdown led to an increasing reliance on home-carers and we investigate the short- and longer-term impacts of lockdown on their mental health.

          Methods

          Data from 9737 adult participants (aged 16+) from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (Understanding Society) were used to explore changes in 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) score between (a) pre-pandemic (2019) and early lockdowns (April 2020) and (b) early and later (July 2020) lockdowns.

          Results

          GHQ-12 scores among home-carers were higher pre-lockdown and increased more than for non-carers from 2019 to April 2020 with further increases for home-carers compared with non-carers between April and July. Compared with respondents caring for a spouse/partner, those caring for a child under 18 had a particularly marked increase in GHQ-12 score between 2019 and April, as did those caring for someone with a learning disability. Home-carers of children under 18 improved from April to July while those caring for adult children saw a marked worsening of their mental health. Home-carers with greater care burden saw larger increases in GHQ-12 score from 2019 to April and from April to July, and increases through both periods were greater for home-carers who had formal help prior to lockdown but then lost it.

          Conclusions

          The mental health of home-carers deteriorated more during lockdown than non-carers. Policies that reinstate support for them and their care-recipients will benefit the health of both vulnerable groups.

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          Most cited references21

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          The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence

          Samantha K. Brooks, Rebecca K Webster, Louise E. Smith … (2022)
          Summary The December, 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak has seen many countries ask people who have potentially come into contact with the infection to isolate themselves at home or in a dedicated quarantine facility. Decisions on how to apply quarantine should be based on the best available evidence. We did a Review of the psychological impact of quarantine using three electronic databases. Of 3166 papers found, 24 are included in this Review. Most reviewed studies reported negative psychological effects including post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion, and anger. Stressors included longer quarantine duration, infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and stigma. Some researchers have suggested long-lasting effects. In situations where quarantine is deemed necessary, officials should quarantine individuals for no longer than required, provide clear rationale for quarantine and information about protocols, and ensure sufficient supplies are provided. Appeals to altruism by reminding the public about the benefits of quarantine to wider society can be favourable.
          Article 0 comments Cited 5503 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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            Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science

            Emily A. Holmes, Rory C O'Connor, V. Perry … (2020)
            Summary The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound effect on all aspects of society, including mental health and physical health. We explore the psychological, social, and neuroscientific effects of COVID-19 and set out the immediate priorities and longer-term strategies for mental health science research. These priorities were informed by surveys of the public and an expert panel convened by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the mental health research charity, MQ: Transforming Mental Health, in the first weeks of the pandemic in the UK in March, 2020. We urge UK research funding agencies to work with researchers, people with lived experience, and others to establish a high level coordination group to ensure that these research priorities are addressed, and to allow new ones to be identified over time. The need to maintain high-quality research standards is imperative. International collaboration and a global perspective will be beneficial. An immediate priority is collecting high-quality data on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the whole population and vulnerable groups, and on brain function, cognition, and mental health of patients with COVID-19. There is an urgent need for research to address how mental health consequences for vulnerable groups can be mitigated under pandemic conditions, and on the impact of repeated media consumption and health messaging around COVID-19. Discovery, evaluation, and refinement of mechanistically driven interventions to address the psychological, social, and neuroscientific aspects of the pandemic are required. Rising to this challenge will require integration across disciplines and sectors, and should be done together with people with lived experience. New funding will be required to meet these priorities, and it can be efficiently leveraged by the UK's world-leading infrastructure. This Position Paper provides a strategy that may be both adapted for, and integrated with, research efforts in other countries.
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              Differences between caregivers and noncaregivers in psychological health and physical health: A meta-analysis.

              Martin Pinquart, Silvia Sörensen (2003)
              Providing care for a frail older adult has been described as a stressful experience that may erode psychological well-being and physical health of caregivers. In this meta-analysis, the authors integrated findings from 84 articles on differences between caregivers and noncaregivers in perceived stress, depression, general subjective well-being, physical health, and self-efficacy. The largest differences were found with regard to depression (g = .58), stress (g = .55), self-efficacy (g = .54), and general subjective well-being (g = -.40). Differences in the levels of physical health in favor of noncaregivers were statistically significant, but small (g = .18). However, larger differences were found between dementia caregivers and noncaregivers than between heterogeneous samples of caregivers and noncaregivers. Differences were also influenced by the quality of the study, relationship of caregiver to the care recipient, gender, and mean age of caregivers.
              Article 0 comments Cited 280 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Psychol Med
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Psychol Med
                Journal ID (publisher-id): PSM
                Title: Psychological Medicine
                Publisher: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK )
                ISSN (Print): 0033-2917
                ISSN (Electronic): 1469-8978
                Publication date (Electronic, pub): 10 June 2021
                Pages: 1-10
                Affiliations
                [1 ]MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow , Berkeley Square, 99 Berkeley Street, Glasgow G3 7HR, UK
                [2 ]Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex , Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ, UK
                Author notes
                Author for correspondence: Elise Whitley, E-mail: elise.whitley@ 123456glasgow.ac.uk
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0297-9078
                Article
                Publisher Item ID: S0033291721002555
                DOI: 10.1017/S0033291721002555
                PMC ID: 8245331
                PubMed ID: 34108060
                SO-VID: 38a5b1b6-390d-49e5-a0b3-aa18a8eac92d
                Copyright © © The Author(s) 2021
                License:

                This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 22 January 2021
                Date revision received : 19 April 2021
                Date accepted : 08 June 2021
                Page count
                Tables: 4, References: 35, Pages: 10
                Categories
                Subject: Original Article

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry
                Keywords: carers,covid-19,inequalities,longitudinal,mental health
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry
                Keywords: carers, covid-19, inequalities, longitudinal, mental health

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