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Take a look at our top 5 blog posts on mental health research as we explore key content from across F1000Research and our partner platforms for Mental Health Awareness Week 2021.

1 – Taking to the stage: using drama to give communities a voice about mental health

For Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, Denford Gudyanga (University of Zimbabwe) explores how drama could be a useful tool to engage communities with mental health research and initiatives, as well as raising awareness and educating people to remove stigma around mental health issues in Zimbabwe, for a blog post with Wellcome Open Research.

“Drama being a socially acceptable medium of community socialization has always played a positive role in people’s life in Zimbabwe. And given how mental illness is a greatly misunderstood and shunned subject in these communities, we wanted to use an already existing medium that is positively associated with community life, and one that is fun and educational to spark conversations around mental illness, which is usually considered a socially unacceptable topic of discussion.”

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2 – The impact of COVID-19 on adolescent mental health in the UK

Also to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, Dr Jocelyn Catty (Tavistock Clinic, London, UK) discusses the impact of lockdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic as a whole on adolescent mental health for the Wellcome Open Research blog.

“It is becoming clear that the pandemic is having a range of effects on mental health. For people who have been severely ill with COVID-19, there are concerns about post-traumatic stress and other mental health problems; the effects of lockdown, and of anxiety about contracting the virus, may also be far-reaching. It is really important that we research and understand the full range of impacts.”

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3 – Continuing research to measure the impact of COVID-19 on self-harm and suicidal behaviour

Emily Eyles (NIHR ARC West, Bristol, UK) explains key findings and challenges so far associated with a Living Systematic Review published with F1000Research, which is focussed on the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-harm and suicidal behaviours.

“So far, we have not seen clear evidence of an increase in self-harm and suicidal behaviour, although a drop in service use was observed in some studies. However, there is often a lag in the collection and reporting of suicide data, and the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing. This means that we may see better evidence in future. We noted that improvements in quality in future studies is necessary, and this highlights the advantage of publishing a Living Systematic Review: we can keep people appraised of the evidence as it improves over time, and eventually, we can hopefully draw more meaningful conclusions from these more robust studies.”

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4 – Coordinating an African mental health response strategy during COVID-19

As part of the DELTAS Africa COVID-19 blog series with AAS Open Research, the team at AMARI (African Mental Health Research Initiative) describes how they have responded to the threat the pandemic posed to mental health in Africa, highlighting key public engagement campaigns and opportunities for future preparedness.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented negative impact on mental health. Common mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety are on the upsurge, coupled with fear of infection and death. This trend is arguably worse in Africa because of existing, acute healthcare deficiencies.

Africa’s response to the pandemic has been in some cases uncoordinated and lacking a holistic approach. For example, social isolation and lockdown restrictions resulted in increased rates of intimate partner violence and stress-related conditions, but there was no coordinated system in place to refer or provide simple interventions to manage mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety, as well as others linked to COVID-19.”

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5 – How yoga can help prepare the body and mind for the maternal journey

Lisa Corrigan (Trinity College Dublin, Republic of Ireland) explores the potential benefits of pregnancy yoga on preparing the body for the physical experience of childbirth, as well as maternal mental health, as the F1000Research blog highlights research from partner platform, HRB Open Research.

“The body of evidence on pregnancy yoga is growing and pregnant women are seeking supports outside typical medical models. Overall, the evidence suggests that yoga is well suited to pregnancy with positive effects on mental health, reductions in perceived and physiological stress, improved birth outcomes such as shorter labour, lower rates of caesarean section and less need for pain relief in labour.  However, methodological challenges in published literature and insufficient robustly designed published trials mean further research in the area is warranted.”

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