Background

The MindSpot Clinic, funded by the Australian Government, is a national digital mental health service (DMHS) providing services to people experiencing anxiety and depression. We recently reported increased service use in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic (19 March to 15 April 2020), and a small increase in anxiety symptoms. This follow-up paper examines trends in service use and symptoms, over 12 weeks from 19 March to 10 June 2020.

Methods

Demographics, symptoms, and psychosocial stressors were compared for participants starting an online assessment over four time-periods: A baseline “Comparison period” prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (1 to 28 September 2019), “Weeks 1–4” of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia (19 March–15 April 2020), “Weeks 5–8” (16 April–13 May 2020) and “Weeks 9–12” (14 May–10 June). Responses to questions about the impact of COVID-19 and strategies used by participants to improve their mental wellbeing are also reported.

Results

A total of 5455 people started a mental health assessment with MindSpot from 19 March to 10 June 2020. The number of assessments per week rose steadily from 303 in week 1 to a peak of 578 in week 5. Symptoms of anxiety were highest in Weeks 1–4, declining steadily over subsequent weeks. Psychological distress and depression, as measured by the K-10 and PHQ-9 respectively, remained stable. Concern about COVID-19 was highest in the first week then steadily declined during the following weeks. The proportions of participants reporting changes to routine were consistent across the 12 weeks, and most participants reported adopting helpful strategies to improve their mental wellbeing.

Conclusions

We observed an initial increase in service use, which reduced over the 12 weeks. The initial rise in anxiety symptoms returned to baseline. Reported concern about the effect of COVID-19 declined steadily over 12 weeks. Symptoms of psychological distress and depression measured by the K-10 and PHQ-9, and the proportion reporting suicidal thoughts and plans did not change, and to date we have not identified indications of a mental health crisis. However, the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the economy and large sections of society are yet to be fully realised, indicating the importance of ongoing monitoring and reporting of trends as indicators of the mental health of the nation.

中文翻译：

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快速报告 2：澳大利亚冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 大流行前 12 周的焦虑和抑郁症状

背景

MindSpot Clinic 由澳大利亚政府资助，是一家全国性的数字心理健康服务机构 (DMHS)，为患有焦虑症和抑郁症的人提供服务。我们最近报告说，在 COVID-19 大流行的最初几周（2020 年 3 月 19 日至 4 月 15 日），服务使用量增加，焦虑症状略有增加。这份后续文件检查了从 2020 年 3 月 19 日到 6 月 10 日的 12 周内服务使用和症状的趋势。

方法

比较了在四个时间段内开始在线评估的参与者的人口统计、症状和心理社会压力源：COVID-19 大流行之前的基线“比较期”（2019 年 9 月 1 日至 28 日），“第 1-4 周”澳大利亚的 COVID-19 大流行（2020 年 3 月 19 日至 4 月 15 日）、“第 5 至 8 周”（2020 年 4 月 16 日至 5 月 13 日）和“第 9 至 12 周”（5 月 14 日至 6 月 10 日）。还报告了对有关 COVID-19 影响以及参与者改善心理健康的策略的回答。

结果

2020 年 3 月 19 日至 6 月 10 日，共有 5455 人开始使用 MindSpot 进行心理健康评估。每周评估次数从第 1 周的 303 次稳步上升到第 5 周的峰值 578 次。焦虑症状在第 1 周最高–4，在随后的几周内稳步下降。分别由 K-10 和 PHQ-9 衡量的心理困扰和抑郁保持稳定。对 COVID-19 的担忧在第一周最高，然后在接下来的几周内稳步下降。在 12 周内，报告常规改变的参与者比例是一致的，大多数参与者报告说采取了有益的策略来改善他们的心理健康。

结论

我们观察到服务使用量最初增加，但在 12 周内有所减少。焦虑症状的最初上升恢复到基线。据报道，对 COVID-19 影响的担忧在 12 周内稳步下降。由 K-10 和 PHQ-9 测量的心理困扰和抑郁症状，以及报告自杀念头和计划的比例没有改变，迄今为止我们还没有发现心理健康危机的迹象。然而，COVID-19 对经济和社会大部分地区的长期影响尚未完全实现，这表明持续监测和报告趋势作为国家心理健康指标的重要性。