RA 7

The Impact of Quarantine and Physical Distancing Following COVID-19 on Mental Health: Study Protocol of a Multi-centric Italian Population Trial

Questions?

  • How did COVID-19 and its containment measures affect mental health in the Italian population?

  • What are the main areas to be targeted by long-term interventions for different categories of people exposed to the pandemic?

Type of Question?

  • Exploratory and Explanatory

Evaluation of Question?

  • The two research questions presented in this article are strong because they are precise by focusing on a single topic like Italian population (McCombes, 2020). These questions also are complex and arguable. They are not simple “yes” or “no” questions that can be easily googled (McCombes, 2020).

Participants?

  • Covid quarantine group (not isolated or exposed to virus)

  • Isolated people that were exposed to the virus

  • Healthcare staff (first and second responders)

  • COVID-19 mental health (users of mental health services and all those who had already been diagnosed with a mental disorder.

Location?

  • Italy

Data Type?

  • Qualitative

Collection?

  • An online survey using EUSurvey that was open March 30- June 30.

Analysis?

  • Data cleaning of the online dataset and replacement of missing values

  • Descriptive statistics of the general characteristics of the recruited sample

  • Subgroup analyses based on the level of exposure to the pandemic

  • Calculation of a propensity score, in order to adjust our findings for the likelihood of being exposed to the pandemic and to the quarantine.


Mental Health Disorders and Associated Risk Factors in Quarantined Adults During the COVID-19 Outbreak in China: Cross-Sectional Study

Question?

  • How the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms identified associated demographic and psychosocial factors were in the general Chinese population during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine period?

Type of Question?

  • Explanatory

Evaluation?

  • I think it is good, but is not very precise and does not have a very specific group other than Chinese population. It is, however, answerable using primary research and has not already been answered (McCombes, 2020).

Participants?

  • Participants aged 18 years or above were recruited through a ‘snowball’ through the WeChat app.

Location?

  • China

Data Type?

  • Quantitative

Collection?

  • An online survey through WeChat that was purposely given to 10 people to ensure specific demographics, then asked to distribute/send the survey to others (snowball).

Analysis?

  • They used a quality control question to ensure they are using accurate results, then divided their results among men, women, single, married, level of education, medical history, to find specific numbers to convey their results.

Personal Evaluation Regarding the Studies in Question:

  • I believe this research and article was much more clear in the first presentation. This is because headers and content were not as vague, and it was more thorough in the descriptions of things like the participants and analyzing data.


Personal Research Question and Evaluation:

Question?

  • What role did isolation during COVID-19 quarantine affect perceived mental health of freshmen at Cleveland State University?

Data Type?

  • Explanatory

Evaluation?

  • I am biased, but I think it is strong. It has a specific target group and focuses on a single topic (McCombes, 2020).

References

McCombes, S. (2020, June 19). Developing Strong Research Questions: Criteria and Examples. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-questions/