The Impact of Information Sources on Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

NCT04442360 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: REK125510-13
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 4,000
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Study description: The present study seeks to investigate the impact of various sources of information on psychopathology, and specifically health anxiety, depression, and general anxiety, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will investigate the divergent impact of various information sources on these psychopathological symptoms during the pandemic. Hypotheses and research questions: Hypothesis 1: Media consumption across all information sources will significantly be associated with depression and anxiety symptoms, with increased media consumption in general associated with higher levels of health anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. Hypothesis 2: Using social media and online interactive platforms to obtain news about the pandemic in comparison to using traditional media (e.g., TV, radio, and newspapers) will be associated with higher levels of health anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. Actively staying away from information will further significantly be associated with higher levels of higher levels of health anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. Research Question 1: Is there a differential effect among different information sources on health anxiety, depression and general anxiety? To what extend and how are different information sources related to symptoms of health anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. Exploratory: Additionally, we will exploratory investigate to what extent the amount of use of different information sources impact health anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. We will also examine effect sizes with part correlations, to investigate information sources with the most and least detrimental impact on health anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. Furthermore, we will report which information platforms participants reported as most useful with regards to information concerning how to best deal with the pandemic.

Conditions

Depression; Generalized Anxiety; Health Anxiety

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Patient Health Questionnaire 9

  The Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer \& Williams, 2001) is used to measure symptoms of depression in accordance with the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder. The questionnaire consists of nine items where each is scored on a four-point Likert scale (0-3), with the range of scores from 0 to 27. Higher scores indicate greater depression severity, and scores above 10 are considered as the cut-off that indicating that the patient is within the depressive area.

  Data is set to be collected starting from 22nd of June until enough data has been collected. The data collection period will last no longer than three weeks.

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7

  The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7; Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams \& Löwe, 2006) is a questionnaire consisting of seven items measuring symptoms of anxiety and worry. The items are scored on a four-point Likert scale (0-3), with the scores ranging from 0 to 21. Specific cut-off for Norwegian samples have been found yielding a cut-off of 8 and above for high sensitivity and specificity (Johnson, Ulvenes, Øktedalen \& Hoffart, 2019).

  Data is set to be collected starting from 22nd of June until enough data has been collected. The data collection period will last no longer than three weeks.

Interventions

Prospective study with two measurement points investigating the impact of viral mitigation protocols on mental health BEHAVIORAL

Prospective study with two measurement points investigating the impact of viral mitigation protocols on mental health

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Gender Eligibility Details: Both Biological Sex and self-representation of gender are measured
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

All adults above 18 years residing in Norway and thus experiencing identical mitigation protocols are invited to participate the study, reaching randomly online with an equal opportunity of participating.

You may qualify if:

• Eligible participants are all adults including those of 18 years and above,
• Who are currently living in Norway and thus experiencing identical NPIs, and
• Who will provide digital consent to partake in the study.

You may not qualify if:

• Children and adolescents (individuals below 18)
• Adults not residing in Norway during the measurement period

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Oslo: lead
• Modum Bad: collaborator

Related Publications (5)

• Johnson SU, Ulvenes PG, Oktedalen T, Hoffart A. Psychometric Properties of the General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item (GAD-7) Scale in a Heterogeneous Psychiatric Sample. Front Psychol. 2019 Aug 6;10:1713. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01713. eCollection 2019.

  PMID: 31447721 BACKGROUND

• Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.

  PMID: 11556941 BACKGROUND

• Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Lowe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.

  PMID: 16717171 BACKGROUND

• Salkovskis PM, Rimes KA, Warwick HM, Clark DM. The Health Anxiety Inventory: development and validation of scales for the measurement of health anxiety and hypochondriasis. Psychol Med. 2002 Jul;32(5):843-53. doi: 10.1017/s0033291702005822.

  PMID: 12171378 BACKGROUND

• Amundsen OM, Hoffart A, Johnson SU, Ebrahimi OV. Pandemic Information Dissemination and Its Associations With the Symptoms of Mental Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Study. JMIR Form Res. 2021 Dec 3;5(12):e28239. doi: 10.2196/28239.

  PMID: 34678750 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression; Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Interventions

Prospective Studies

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Anxiety Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Cohort Studies; Epidemiologic Studies; Epidemiologic Study Characteristics; Epidemiologic Methods; Investigative Techniques; Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms; Quality of Health Care; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Public Health; Environment and Public Health

Study Officials

• Omid V. Ebrahimi, PhD

  University of Oslo

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Asle Hoffart, PhD

  Modum Bad

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Sverre Urnes Johnson, PhD

  University of Oslo

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Ole Myklebust Amundsen, Cand.Psychol Student

  University of Bergen

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Omid V. Ebrahimi, Double PhD Candidate

CONTACT

+47-22845295; omideb@uio.no

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Mr.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2020
• First Posted: June 22, 2020
• Study Start: June 22, 2020
• Primary Completion: July 13, 2020
• Study Completion: July 13, 2020
• Last Updated: June 23, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-06