How did the first COVID-19 lockdown affect persons with concurrent mental health and substance use disorders in Norway? A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of COVID-19 with its severe social restrictions touched the daily life of most people. While everyday social life becomes difficult for citizens with economic and cultural capital, it becomes even worse for vulnerable groups such as persons with mental health and substance use disorders, who are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion. The aim of this study is to investigate how the first COVID-19 lockdown affected the everyday life and health of persons with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. METHODS: This qualitative study reports data from 17 individual interviews and one focus group of five participants, all with a self-reported mental health and substance use disorder. Interviews were conducted based on a semi-structured interview guide in September and October 2020 in a medium-sized local authority in Norway. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. A reference group of people with varied knowledge and experiences of the phenomenon were involved in study design, recruitment, data generation and analysis. RESULTS: The analysis identified four interrelated main themes, describing how the first lockdown affected the everyday life and health of persons suffering from a mental health and substance use disorder: (1) The COVID-19 outbreak as a perceived challenge, (2) A decline in mental health and well-being, (3) Increased substance use challenges, and (4) Diverse experiences with health and social services. The results show that people with a co-occurring disorder have challenges with digital tools and/or do not have the appropriate equipment. Further, participants were not concerned about becoming infected themselves, but infecting others. CONCLUSIONS: Persons with a mental health and substance use disorder face major challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need to maintain continuous low-threshold services especially directed towards persons with co-occurring disorders during the pandemic. Furthermore, it is important to improve the digital skills of every service user or offer alternatives to digital consultations and meetings.

Covid-19: Kontakt med helsesykepleier i skolehelsetjenesten under første nedstengning -- en tverrsnittsstudie

Bakgrunn: Covid-19-pandemien, som også rammet Norge, påvirket ungdom i stor grad. Skolene stengte, og strenge restriksjoner ble innført. Ungdommene rapporterte om lavere livstilfredsstillelse, de følte seg ensomme og mindre glade. Samtidig med at skolene stengte, skjedde det endringer i skolehelsetjenestene. Flere av helsesykepleierne ble omdisponert til andre oppgaver, noe som førte til et redusert tilbud til ungdommen. Hensikt: Vi ønsket i denne undersøkelsen å se på hvordan ungdommenes bekymringer og utfordringer under første nedstengning påvirket bruken av helsesykepleier i skolehelsetjenesten. Vi så også på i hvilken grad gutter og jenter tok kontakt med en helsesykepleier, og hvorvidt de hadde fått informasjon om hvordan de kunne komme i kontakt med en helsesykepleier da skolen var stengt. Metode: Tverrsnittsstudien ble gjennomført i Innlandet og Viken i mai 2020. Vi samlet inn data med elektroniske spørreskjemaer. Totalt 3347 ungdommer fra 8.-10. klasse deltok. Vi utførte deskriptive analyser og logistisk regre sjons analys e. Resultat: Pandemien har påvirket flere av ungdommene i en positiv retning (74,9 prosent) enn i en negativ retning (68 prosent). Av jentene var 49,5 prosent bekymret for å bli smittet av covid-19, mens bare 30 prosent av guttene var det. Under halvparten av ungdommene tok kontakt med hjelpetelefon eller chat, og flere jenter enn gutter vurderte det. Det var 41 prosent som hadde fått informasjon om hvordan de kunne komme i kontakt med en helsesykepleier mens skolene var stengt, mens 36 prosent svarte at de ikke hadde fått det. Den logistiske regresjonsanalysen viste at det var mer sannsynlig at jenter tok kontakt med helsesykepleier under første nedstengning enn gutter. Konklusjon: Undersøkelsen viser at første nedstengning påvirket ungdommene både positivt og negativt. Et fåtall hadde fått informasjon om at de kan ta kontakt med en helsesykepleier i skolehelsetjenesten i denne perioden. I slike situasjoner er det viktig med god informasjon om hvordan helsesykepleieren kan nås, og at helsesykepleieren er tilgjengelig for ungdommen.

Are There Differences in Video Gaming and Use of Social Media among Boys and Girls?-A Mixed Methods Approach.

Gaming is widespread among adolescents and has typically been viewed as an activity for boys. There are however a growing number of female gamers and we need to learn more about how gender affects gaming. The aim of this study is to both quantify gaming among Norwegian adolescents and explore how gender differences are perceived. A mixed method approach was used to capture gaming experiences among boys and girls. Survey data (N = 5607) was analyzed descriptively, and five focus groups were conducted, applying thematic analysis. Statistics showed that boys from the age of 14 use video games up to 5 times more than girls, while girls are much more on social media. From the focus groups, we found that boys did not view social media as socially significant as gaming and that there is a greater social acceptance of gaming among boys than among girls. Gender differences in video gaming are not necessarily a problem per se, as they may reflect gender-specific motivations and interests. However, the study also finds that girls feel less encouraged than boys to play video games due to different gender-related experiences of video gaming. Therefore, gendered barriers in video gaming must be explored in future research.