PAEDIATRICS
The impact of COVID-19 By Jessamine Luck hile the COVID-19 pandemic has occurred in a series of waves, the heightened levels of depression and anxiety among children and youth seen at the start of the pandemic have remained consistent. This is one of many new preliminary findings from the ongoing COVID-19 mental health study led by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Taken together, the latest findings demonstrate a serious, sustained negative impact on the mental health of Ontario children, youth and their families. The study currently has over 2,700 participants, ranging in age from two to 18, who live in Ontario. It is led by four research teams, each with their own areas of expertise in child and youth health. The research teams surveyed different participants at different time points to get a holistic understanding of how public health measures, including school closures,
W
20 HOSPITAL NEWS AUGUST 2021
have impacted child and youth mental health and well-being.
LOSS OF IN-PERSON SCHOOL HAD SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON CHILD AND YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH
The research team’s initial findings show mental health did not improve as the school year progressed, building on their previous findings that a majority of children and youth reported worsening mental health during the initial COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. Across participants with and without pre-pandemic mental health diagnoses, more than half of 758 children aged eight to 12 years old and 70 per cent of 520 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years old reported clinically significant depressive symptoms during the second wave (February to March 2021). Among 1,494 participants, the researchers observed a strong association between time spent on online learning
and depression and anxiety in schoolage children (six to 18 years old). The more time students spent on online learning, the more symptoms of depression and anxiety they experienced. Before the pandemic, 58 per cent of 1,261 participants surveyed participated in school sports and/or other extracurriculars, activities that are known to boost physical and mental health. During the pandemic, only 27 per cent participated in sports and 16 per cent in extracurriculars. Furthermore, losing in-school services, such as counselling, speech/language and occupational therapy, and learning supports, resulted in worse mental health outcomes for children and youth. “School represents more than just academics for children and youth. For many, school and its in-person interactions and activities form the cornerstone of their lives,” says Dr. Daphne Korczak, Principal Investigator of the study and Child and Adolescent Psy-
chiatrist at SickKids. “Our initial findings show that despite periods of modified, in-person school, mental health measures did not improve significantly, including for those who attended school in person. This should serve as an urgent call to ensure that we do not replicate school as it was this past year in Ontario, and we get kids back to in-person learning, activities, and sports.”
MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTED BY INEQUITIES, INCREASED SCREEN TIME DURING COVID-19
The initial findings suggest that families who were already vulnerable before the pandemic, for example, those with lower household income and parental education rates, were disproportionately impacted by economic hardship as a result of the pandemic, such as job loss and food insecurity. www.hospitalnews.com
