Bajans losing night rest over COVID, study finds

A significant number of Barbadians are suffering from serious anxiety or sleeping disorders directly linked to fears of being severely infected by the COVID-19 virus, a year-long study has found.

The research was conducted between June 2020 and June 2021 by occupational psychologist Jolene King and Dwayne Devonish, Professor of Management and Organisational Behaviour at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus.

A copy of the study, entitled An Exploratory Study of Mental Health Challenges, Perceptions of COVID-19 Pandemic and Mental Health, was obtained by Barbados TODAY on Thursday.

About 70 per cent of the 450 respondents indicated moderate to severe levels of anxiety or insomnia, based on the four dimensions of poor mental health assessed, according to the researchers.

The first dimension was somatic symptoms, which refer to physical symptoms or manifestations related to mental distress, such as not feeling well, fatigue or pain. The second dimension concerned anxiety/insomnia which points to anxious and nervous feelings as well as associated psychological difficulties with sleeping at night.

The third aspect of social dysfunction cites mental health challenges that promote unhealthy social behaviours and problems in adjusting in various settings; while the fourth was severe depression which indicates excessive or exaggerated feelings of unworthiness, sadness and despair.

The findings of the study which are now being made public for the first time also revealed that slightly more than half of the sample size (56 per cent), reported moderate to severe physical (somatic) symptoms associated with poor mental health, whereas (46 per cent) of participants complained of moderate to severe signs of serious depression.

The authors of the study said social dysfunction was the least problematic in a relative sense, but that it was a major concern for a fifth of the sample (21 per cent).

King and Devonish also compared the mental health status of respondents across various demographics.

Participants in the youngest age group – 18-34 – reported higher levels of somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia and social dysfunction, compared to those in older age groups.

“Hence, the youngest people seem to be more affected by mental health challenges than older people in the Barbadian sample which is consistent with previous international research,” the survey showed.

The researchers found that unemployed Barbadians revealed higher levels of anxiety or insomnia and social dysfunction than full-time employed residents and retirees.

It was discovered that retired Barbadians were significantly lower in their levels of anxiety or insomnia and social dysfunction when compared to all other employment categories, including employed and unemployed.

“Overall, retired people (who were generally the older respondents) were least affected by mental health challenges, whereas unemployed people were most affected by the same challenges,” according to the survey.

When it came to perceptions of the virus and mental health, “the results categorically indicated that respondents who perceived a COVID-19 infection as more severe (if they themselves were infected) reported greater somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia and social dysfunction compared to those who perceived that it would be a less severe infection”.

“These findings suggest that many Barbadians’ mental health is tied directly to their fears, concerns and anxieties surrounding the severity of a possible COVID-19 infection during this pandemic,” the researchers said. “Hence, the more vulnerable people believe that they will be severely ill if infected, the more their mental health will be adversely affected.”

The two experts have therefore included a number of recommendations in their document which were informed by their overall findings.

One recommendation sees an urgent need for a robust mental health policy as well as more public information on mental health support/promotion disseminated through social media, television, print media and radio to reach a wide cross-section of the population.

There is also a call for more psychological support services and related assistance in various forms, such online social interaction via Zoom and available public hotlines which would be free and accessible to the general public.

Professor Devonish and King also recommend that Government, state agencies, community-based organisations and private sector companies demonstrate their “tremendous” duty of care for people in these various spaces to ensure that their mental health and well-being are adequately taken care of and promoted.

“Community-based and workplace risk assessments for mental health issues among these individuals should be regularly conducted to determine those most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of COVID-19 and the associated institutional responses to the pandemic (e.g. curfews/lockdowns, health and safety protocols and increasing demands of remote working),” the authors declared.

Noting that the unemployed are more at risk of developing mental health challenges given their precarious social and economic position in the society, the two experts strongly believe that is incumbent on the Government and community-based sectors to provide the much-needed mental health support and other related resources to cater to the psychological needs of this vulnerable socio-economic group.

“Special psychological interventions/programmes for unemployed people that resemble Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) which are typically deployed for those in the workplace, would go a long way to addressing diverse mental health challenges associated with job loss, unemployment and loss of income,” they suggested.

Within the sample, 56 per cent were female and 44 per cent were male.

The researchers said they aim to extend the study beyond Barbados into the wider Caribbean region.

The study is currently under peer review in the international publication, Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice.
(emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb