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Assessing the Impacts of COVID-19 on Mental Health National Monitoring Survey

University of British Columbia

Emily Jenkins , Anne Gadermann

Topic areas

COVID-192S/LGBTQ+Youth

Study Design:

This is a national survey-based quantitative study, with responses collected May 2020, September 2020, and January 2021.


Study Sample:

The study sampled individuals 18 years of age and older, with 9061 respondents nationally across the three rounds of data collection, with 1158 being from BC.


Research Questions:

This study investigated whose mental health is most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the pandemic is interfacing with existing health, social, and structural inequities to widen mental health inequities.


Preliminary Findings:

Findings suggest that mental health inequities are widening in the context of the pandemic. Populations who are overrepresented in adverse mental health outcomes include: people with a previous mental health condition or living with disability, young people (18-24), those with low household income (<25k/year), Indigenous peoples, and 2S/LGBTQ+ individuals.

Find more information on the study homepage

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Related publications

  • Jenkins, E. K., McAuliffe, C., Hirani, S., Richardson, C., Thomson, K. C., McGuinness, L., Morris, J., Kousoulis, A., & Gadermann, A. (2021). A portrait of the early and differential mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: Findings from the first wave of a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. Preventive Medicine, 145, 106333–106333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106333

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  • Gadermann AC, Thomson KC, Richardson CG, et alExamining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on family mental health in Canada: findings from a national cross-sectional studyBMJ Open 2021;11:e042871. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042871

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  • Richardson CG, Slemon A, Gadermann A, McAuliffe C, Thomson K, Daly Z, Salway T, Currie LM, David A, Jenkins E. Use of Asynchronous Virtual Mental Health Resources for COVID-19 Pandemic–Related Stress Among the General Population in Canada: Cross-Sectional Survey Study J Med Internet Res 2020;22(12):e24868 doi: 10.2196/24868

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  • Daly, Z., Slemon, A., Richardson, C. G., Salway, T., McAuliffe, C., Gadermann, A. M., Thomson, K. C., Hirani, S., & Jenkins, E. K. (2021). Associations between periods of COVID-19 quarantine and mental health in Canada. Psychiatry Research, 295, 113631–113631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113631

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BC Alliance for Monitoring Mental Health Equity respectfully acknowledges that the land on which we work is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations.

BC Alliance for Monitoring Mental Health Equity

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