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- Page navigation anchor for RE: Addressing the indirect effects of COVID-19 on the health of childrenRE: Addressing the indirect effects of COVID-19 on the health of children
In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global action plan targeting a 15% reduction in insufficient physical activity among adolescents by 2030, because 80% of youth were not meeting recommendations.1 Accordingly, the WHO called for an urgent “scaling up” of programmes aimed to increase physical activity and reduce screen time.1 Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has thwarted these efforts. Surveys of 2426 children from China showed a reduction of 7 hours per week in physical activity and a corresponding increase in 30 hours per week of screen time, when comparing activities before and after implementation of pandemic restrictions.2 The implications are dire, since prolonged screen time has been linked to depression and anxiety among youth.3 In fact, 64% of teenagers surveyed indicated that COVID-19 will have a lasting effect on their generation’s mental health.4 Public health measures must therefore balance the effects of pandemic restrictions against the risks of viral transmission among children.5
The authors highlight the need for data collection among youth groups.5 To this end, Swim Alberta performed a retrospective analysis of data collected from 5873 registered swimmers who participated in swimming cohorts from July to November 2020. Aggregate data from 5447 of 5873 registered swimmers (93%) representing 223324 swimming hours were included. The majority (86%) of cohort participants were aged 18 years or younger, with a female...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.References
- 1. Guthold R, Stevens RA, Riley LM, Bull FC. Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: a pooled analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1·6 million participants. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2020; 4: 23–35
- 2. Xiang M, Zhang Z, Kuwahara K. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents’ lifestyle behavior larger than expected. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 2020; 63 (4): 531 - 532
- 3. Xie X, Xue Q, Zhou Y, et al. Mental health status among children in home confinement during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak in Hubei Province, China. JAMA Pediatr 2020;174(9): 898-900
- 4. National 4-H.Council. 4-H youth mental health survey. Accessed June20, 2020. https://4-h.org/about/research/#!healthy-living
- 5. Chanchlani N, Buchanan F, Gill PJ. Addressing the indirect effects of COVID-19 on the health of children and young people. CMAJ 2020;192:E921-E927.
- Page navigation anchor for RE: Addressing the indirect effects of COVID-19 on the health of childrenRE: Addressing the indirect effects of COVID-19 on the health of children
CBT-Vaccination: A Public Health Approach to Support the Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health and Wellbeing
A mental health “echo-pandemic” is unfolding as the short and long term physical and mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue unabated across the globe. The mental health effects are felt at the general population level through COVID’s impact on the education and healthcare systems, the economy as well as increased psychiatric symptoms in vulnerable groups and fatigue and burn-out in front-line workers. As children and adolescents head back to classes, parents worry about adequate safety measures and a second wave of new infections on the one hand while weighing the impact of social isolation on their children’s development on the other. In this letter we propose Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Vaccination (CBT-V) as a strategy that integrates COVID-related public health measures with the best evidence-based psychological intervention.
The concept of behavioral vaccines, or non-pharmacological approaches to treating psychological disease burden at the population level is not new. In response to a report by the Institute of Medicine to prevent highly prevalent mental health disorders, Embry (2011) suggested that evidence-based behavioral kernels and behavioral vaccines could be used through a public health approach, to provide treatment at the general population level. Evidence-based kernels are the smallest units of behavioral chang...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.References
- Neil Chanchlani, Francine Buchanan, Peter J. Gill. Addressing the indirect effects of COVID-19 on the health of children and young people. CMAJ 2020;192:E921-E927.
- Dennis Embry. Behavioral vaccines and evidence based kernels:non-pharmaceutical approaches for the prevention of mental health,emotional and behavioral disorders. Osychiatr Clin North Am,2011,:34(1):1-34
- Stefan Hofmann, Anu Asnanani,,Imke JJ Vonke, Alice Sawyer, and Angela Fang: The efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A review of Meta-analyses. Cognit Ther Res,2012.:36(5):427-440
- Vikram Kumar,Yasar Sattar,AnanBseiso,Sara Khan,Ian Rutforsky. THe effectiveness of Internet-based Cogntive Behavioral Therapy in treatment of psychiatric disorders (2017). Cureus (2017), 9(8):e1626
- Page navigation anchor for RE: Mental health issues in children amidst COVID-19 pandemicRE: Mental health issues in children amidst COVID-19 pandemic
Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected society in many ways.1 It has brought about lockdown, and school closures have impacted over 1.5 billion children. Restriction in movement, loss of daily wages and isolation invites high levels of stress and anxiety. The repercussion of this is an increased level of psychological and sexual abuse on children at home apart from physical violence. This is more common in parts of society who face the financial crunch as a result of this evolving pandemic. About 30% of children or their parents who are subjected to quarantine at home or are isolated, suffer from acute stress disorder, depression and adjustment problems caused as result of such dramatic change in their daily lifestyle.2 A few college students have experienced suicidal tendencies as well. Lack of companionship and separation from caregivers affects the psychological wellbeing of children. These stressors may trigger new symptoms or exacerbate underlying mental or neurological conditions and may cause sleeping difficulties.3 Although online platforms have been popularized at the right time to prevent academic delays and allow the learning activities of the children to continue, they come with potential risks of unnecessary cyber usage and involvement in irrational behavioral activities. World Health Organization has suggested the importance of reassurance and counseling the younger population, keeping them informed of the facts of the pandemic in a way that is app...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.References
- . RE: Mental health issues in children amidst COVID-19 pandemic. 2020;:-.
- Wang G, Zhang Y, Zhao J, Zhang J, Jiang F. Mitigate the effects of home confinement on children during the COVID-19 outbreak. Lancet. 2020 21;395(10228):945–7.
- Norredam M, Nellums L, Nielsen RS, Byberg S, Petersen JH. Incidence of psychiatric disorders among accompanied and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Denmark: a nation-wide register-based cohort study. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018 Apr;27(4)
- World Health Organization. Guiding principles for immunization activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: interim guidance, 26 March 2020. 2020 [cited 2020 Jun 27]; Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/331590
- Dubey S, Biswas P, Ghosh R, Chatterjee S, Dubey MJ, Chatterjee S, et al. Psychosocial impact of COVID-19. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2020 May 27;14(5):779–88.