Lockdown measures in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic can have serious mental health effects on the population, especially in vulnerable groups, such as those living in poor socio-economic conditions, those who are homeless, migrant workers and asylum seekers/refugees. In addition, these vulnerable groups frequently have greater difficulty accessing health services and in treatment adherence.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as a result of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, has led to a public health emergency, thousands of deaths, generalised economic depression, unemployment and worldwide quarantines.

However, such restrictive measures will likely have serious mental health effects on the population.3, 4, 5, 6 In particular, there are certain subgroups of the population that are particularly at risk in this situation due to their precrisis vulnerability. Among them, there are those who live in poor socio-economic conditions,7 , 8 those who are homeless,9 migrant workers,10 , 11 asylum seekers and refugees12 , 13 and patients with existing mental health disorders.14 , 15 In addition, some individuals will fall into several of these subgroups, thus increasing their risk.16 For example, asylum seekers whose request of international protection has been rejected are often homeless, without documents, without jobs, live in poverty and also have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to their migratory experience, as well as depressive and adjustment disorders related to their present poor living conditions.

There is evidence that the COVID-19 crisis has had a negative impact on the mental health of vulnerable populations through different mechanisms.

For example, participants reported intrinsic effects related to anxieties of being infected; consequences of the quarantine, both on living experience (e.g. sense of imprisonment reminding traumatic experiences, intolerance to inactivity, boredom, depression) and interpersonal relationships (e.g. forced and conflictual cohabitation in reception centres); fears for the health of relatives living in their home countries; increased social marginalisation (e.g. homeless remained without food, clothing, furniture, laundry and washing facilities or without acceptance in public dormitories); job loss and additional economic difficulties; reduction of the activities in the mental health outpatient services, with increased difficulty in accessing them; increased fears of being taken by the police in the cases of undocumented migrants (the reduction of people around the city made them more visible in the streets) and inability to obtain necessary medications.

The aim of this petition is to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19–related lockdown on two specific problems possibly faced by mental health patients with a history of immigration and/or socio-economic difficulties: that is, difficulties in mental health service utilisation and follow-up adherence.

LINK:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7409736/

Negative impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on mental health service access and follow-up adherence for immigrants and individuals in socio-economic difficulties