Don't let corona become our only story

This chapter is about, what impact can the corona crisis have on our mental health? Besides the relational tensions that can arise from living on top of each other, many of us are also stuck in one negative story. The chapter is about the importance making room for stories that are not about corona. It discusses about work that consisting of broadening people's horizon by letting participants discover that they consist of multiple stories. This will have an enormous impact on the mental well-being of a large part of the population, which will have lots of consequences. That is why it is important to actively make room for other stories right now, in the middle of the pandemic. Memories from the past and dreams for the future. This is a responsibility one has to take towards one's own mental health (and resilience), just as we have to do for others. Sharing other stories and making sure people don't get stuck in that one difficult story is just as much part of caring about each other and will help us get through this crisis healthier. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Investigation of the Effect of COVID-19 Perceived Risk on Death Anxiety, Satisfaction With Life, and Psychological Well-Being.

This study aims to examine the effect of COVID-19 perceived risk on death anxiety, satisfaction with life, and psychological well-being. The application part of the research was conducted on staff working in a public hospital. A convenience sample of staff working in a public hospital was used and data were obtained from 573 individuals. The result of the analysis determined that the COVID-19 perceived risk explains 13.5% of the total variance on death anxiety. The regression models identified that the increase in COVID-19 risk perceptions of the participants statistically increased their death anxiety and decreased their satisfaction with life and psychological well-being.

PA during the COVID-19 outbreak in China: a cross-sectional study.

COVID-19 has undergone several mutations and is still spreading in most countries now. PA has positive benefits in the prevention of COVID-19 infection and counteracting the negative physical and mental effects caused by COVID-19. However, relevant evidence has indicated a high prevalence of physical inactivity among the general population, which has worsened due to the outbreak of the pandemic, and there is a severe lack of exercise guidance and mitigation strategies to advance the knowledge and role of PA to improve physical and mental health in most countries during the epidemic. This study surveyed the effects of COVID-19 on PA in Chinese residents during the pandemic and provided important reference and evidence to inform policymakers and formulate policies and planning for health promotion and strengthening residents' PA during periods of public health emergencies. ANOVA, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, the chi-square test and Spearman correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. A total of 14,715 participants were included. The results show that nearly 70% of Chinese residents had inadequate PA (95%CI 58.0%-82.19%) during the COVID-19 outbreak, which was more than double the global level (27.5%, 95%CI 25.0%-32.2%). The content, intensity, duration, and frequency of PA were all affected during the period of home isolation, and the types of PA may vary among different ages. The lack of physical facilities and cultural environment is the main factor affecting PA. However, there was no significant correlation between insufficient PA and the infection rate. During the period of home isolation and social distance of epidemic prevention, it is necessary to strengthen the scientific remote network monitoring and guidance for the process of PA in China.

The Impact of Extended E-Learning on Emotional Well-Being of Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

Educational institutions in Saudi Arabia extended e-learning until the third semester of the academic calendar to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection and to achieve 70% inoculation for the Saudi population. This study assesses the impact of extended e-learning and other associated stressors on the emotional health of university students in Saudi Arabia. An online cross-sectional survey collected data between the months of January-March 2021. The emotional signs of stress were measured by using a subset of items from the COVID-19 Adolescent Symptom and Psychological Experience Questionnaire (CASPE). Data about demographic variables, educational characteristics and academic performance were also collected. A regression analysis was performed to determine predictors of emotional health. A total of 434 university students including females (63%) and males (37%) provided responses. One-third of students (33%) indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting changes including online distance studies greatly influenced their daily lives in a negative way. The regression analysis demonstrated that female students and students with average academic performance had increased vulnerability to experience emotional signs of stress (p < 0.05). The factors 'Not going to university' and 'Not having a routine life' were significant predictors of stress responses (p < 0.01) and (p < 0.001) respectively. E-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic made it possible for students to complete their studies as per academic calendar; simultaneously, it increased the vulnerability to experience stress, particularly for female students and students with average academic performance. These findings imply that academic advising and counseling services should be more readily available during digital studies to support at risk students.

'Online therapy' to reduce caregiver's distress and to stimulate post-severe acquired brain injury motor and cognitive recovery: A Sicilian hospital experience in the COVID era.

INTRODUCTION: Severe acquired brain injury(SABI) often results in the deterioration of physical, cognitive and emotional functions in the patient and a significant caregiver's distress syndrome, which is now amplified by the social isolation, depression and financial difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of web-based online-therapy has been shown to be useful to overcome caregiver's distress syndrome and further stimulate cognitive-motor recovery of SABI-patients. Our study aimed to investigate whether a systematic online Skype-therapy(OLST) may be of support in favoring global cognitive and sensory-motor recovery in SABI-patients and reducing caregiver distress. METHODS: Twenty-five SABI-subjects in inpatient regimen were provided with intensive OLST with the caregiver for 12 weeks in addition to standard neurorehabilitation. Each subject and caregiver was evaluated before and after the treatment by administering an ad hoc battery. Furthermore, 18 of 27 patients were provided with EEG recording in resting state. RESULTS: We found a significant reduction in caregiver's anxiety (p<0.0001) and burden(p<0.0001). Patients showed significant improvement in trunk control (p<0.0001), functional independence (p = 0.005), functional (p = 0.01) and global communication (p = 0.004), cognitive functioning (p = 0.001), and behavioral responsiveness (p = 0.0004). The training yielded a significant connectivity change within the fronto-centro-parietal areas in the delta frequency band (p<0.0001) and the centro-parieto-occipital areas in the alpha range (p = 0.004). DISCUSSION: OLST may be a useful and complementary treatment to optimize global cognitive and functional recovery in SABI-subjects and reduce caregivers' concerns in the Covid-era. OLST can foster cognitive-motor recovery potentially by favoring the plasticity-dependent functional recovery. Therefore, OLST could be proposed as a tool allowing social conversations also in the hospital setting.

Food for thought: the importance of nutritional well-being during COVID-19.

Individuals with mental illness have poorer physical health, nutritional status, and lowered life expectancy. Optimising their physical and nutritional status has become an increasingly important therapeutic goal. Current experience with COVID-19 has further emphasised the susceptibility to physical illness and poorer outcomes amongst individuals with mental illness and those who are nutritionally compromised. Although life as we knew it has been suspended until the widespread roll-out of a vaccine, individuals can take immediate action to improve physical and mental health by attending to and optimising their nutritional well-being. Clinicians within mental health services have a crucial role to play in assisting such change, and reminding their patients of the importance of pursuing a healthy and balanced diet.

Nursing home staff perceptions of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.

AIMS: To explore how nursing home staff perceived their work environment during the COVID-19 pandemic and how this impacted their well-being. DESIGN: A qualitative interview study. METHODS: Interviews were held with twenty-two registered nurses and assistant nurses from five nursing homes in the Netherlands between April 2021 and July 2021. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) were followed. RESULTS: Five themes emerged from the interviews and indicated that working during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted perceived well-being of nursing home staff. Three themes concerned experiences at work: eroding care, additional roles and workplace support. Specifically, the increased workload with additional tasks, the constant stream of new guidelines and constrictive personal protective equipment caused discomfort and anxiety. Two other themes concerned experiences outside of work: work-life interference and social interactions and status. The nurses reported that when they returned home after work, they were tired and worried about spreading the virus while facing limited social interactions and support. CONCLUSION: The social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted nursing home staff well-being by increasing demands in the absence of adequate resources. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: The well-being needs of nurses should receive continued attention to ensure the sustainability of healthcare during future crises. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: The nursing home managers participated in recommending the topics to be covered during interviews. IMPACT: What problem did the study address? The pressure of stressful working conditions on the well-being of nurses during the pandemic. What were the main findings? Nurses created strategies to cope with declining well-being. However, the available resources did not alleviate the increased demands caused by the pandemic. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? This study is important for healthcare organizations to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected nurses so that they may better prepare for future crises.

Use it or lose it? Identifying reasons for the low use of psychosocial support by hospital staff.

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial support programs are a way for hospitals to support the mental health of their staff. However, while support is needed, utilization of support by hospital staff remains low. This study aims to identify reasons for non-use and elements that are important to consider when offering psychosocial support. METHODS: This mixed-method, multiple case study used survey data and in-depth interviews to assess the extent of psychosocial support use, reasons for non-use and perceived important elements regarding the offering of psychosocial support among Dutch hospital staff. The study focused on a time of especially high need, namely the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics were used to assess frequency of use among 1514 staff. The constant comparative method was used to analyze answers provided to two open-ended survey questions (n = 274 respondents) and in-depth interviews (n = 37 interviewees). RESULTS: The use of psychosocial support decreased from 8.4% in December 2020 to 3.6% by September 2021. We identified four main reasons for non-use of support: deeming support unnecessary, deeming support unsuitable, being unaware of the availability, or feeling undeserving of support. Furthermore, we uncovered four important elements: offer support structurally after the crisis, adjust support to diverse needs, ensure accessibility and awareness, and an active role for supervisors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the low use of psychosocial support by hospital staff is shaped by individual, organizational, and support-specific factors. These factors can be targeted to increase use of psychosocial support, whereby it is important to also focus on the wider hospital workforce in addition to frontline staff.

Retrospective Analysis of the Psychological Predictors of Public Health Support in Bulgarians at the Beginning of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The earliest critical context of the pandemic, preceding the first real epidemiological wave of contagion in Bulgaria, was examined using a socio-affective perspective. A retrospective and agnostic analytical approach was adopted. Our goal was to identify traits and trends that explain public health support (PHS) of Bulgarians during the first two months of the declared state of emergency. We investigated a set of variables with a unified method within an international scientific network named the International Collaboration on Social & Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (ICSMP) in April and May 2020. A total of 733 Bulgarians participated in the study (67.3% females), with an average age of 31.8 years (SD = 11.66). Conspiracy Theories Beliefs were a significant predictor of lower PHS. Psychological Well-Being was significantly associated with Physical Contact and Anti-Corona Policy Support. Physical Contact was significantly predicted by fewer Conspiracy Theories Beliefs, higher Collective Narcissism, Open-mindedness, higher Trait Self-Control, Moral Identity, Risk Perception and Psychological Well-Being. Physical Hygiene compliance was predicted by fewer Conspiracy Theories Beliefs, Collective Narcissism, Morality-as-Cooperation, Moral Identity and Psychological Well-Being. The results revealed two polar trends of support and non-support of public health policies. The contribution of this study is in providing evidence for the affective polarization and phenomenology of (non)precarity during the outbreak of the pandemic.

Psychosocial and financial well-being mediated the effects of COVID-19 distress on suicidality: a serial mediation model among Hong Kong young adults.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant distress on not only the physical health but also mental health of individuals. The present study investigated the direct and indirect effects from COVID-19 distress to suicidality via psychosocial and financial well-being among young people. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey recruited 1472 Hong Kong young people via random sampling in 2021. The respondents completed a phone survey on COVID-19 distress, the four-item Patient Health Questionnaire and items on social well-being, financial well-being, and suicidality. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to examine the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 distress on suicidality via psychosocial and financial well-being. RESULTS: The direct effect of COVID-19 distress on suicidality was not significant (ß = 0.022, 95% CI - 0.097-0.156). The total indirect effect from COVID-19 distress to suicidality was significant and positive (αßγ = 0.150, 95% CI = 0.085-0.245) and accounted for 87% of the total effect (B = 0.172, 95% CI = 0.043-0.341). There were significant specific indirect effects via social well-being and psychological distress, and financial well-being and psychological distress. CONCLUSION: The present findings support different pathways from COVID-19 distress to suicidality via functioning in different domains among young people in Hong Kong. Measures are needed to ameliorate the impact on their social and financial well-being to reduce their psychological distress and suicidality.

The role of personal identity as a resource for college students during COVID-19.

Objective: We examined the role of personal identity vis-à-vis COVID-related outcomes among college students from seven U.S. campuses during spring/summer 2021. Participants: The present sample consisted of 1,688 students (74.5% female, age range 18-29). The sample was ethnically diverse, and 57.3% were first-generation students. Procedures: Students completed an online survey assessing personal identity synthesis and confusion, COVID-related worries, general internalizing symptoms, positive adaptation, and general well-being. Results: Personal identity synthesis was negatively related to COVID-related worries and general internalizing symptoms, and positively related to positive adaptation, both directly and indirectly through life satisfaction and psychological well-being. Personal identity confusion evidenced an opposing set of direct and indirect associations with outcome variables. Conclusions: Personal identity may potentially be protective against pandemic-related distress among college students, in part through its association with well-being. Reducing identity confusion and promoting identity synthesis are essential among college students during this and future pandemics.

Affectionate touch and diurnal oxytocin levels: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Background: Affectionate touch, which is vital for mental and physical health, was restricted during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study investigated the association between momentary affectionate touch and subjective well-being, as well as salivary oxytocin and cortisol in everyday life during the pandemic. Methods: In the first step, we measured anxiety and depression symptoms, loneliness and attitudes toward social touch in a large cross-sectional online survey (N = 1050). From this sample, N = 247 participants completed ecological momentary assessments over 2 days with six daily assessments by answering smartphone-based questions on affectionate touch and momentary mental state, and providing concomitant saliva samples for cortisol and oxytocin assessment. Results: Multilevel models showed that on a within-person level, affectionate touch was associated with decreased self-reported anxiety, general burden, stress, and increased oxytocin levels. On a between-person level, affectionate touch was associated with decreased cortisol levels and higher happiness. Moreover, individuals with a positive attitude toward social touch experiencing loneliness reported more mental health problems. Conclusions: Our results suggest that affectionate touch is linked to higher endogenous oxytocin in times of pandemic and lockdown and might buffer stress on a subjective and hormonal level. These findings might have implications for preventing mental burden during social contact restrictions. Funding: The study was funded by the German Research Foundation, the German Psychological Society, and German Academic Exchange Service.

Experiences of Sign Language Interpreters and Perspectives of Interpreting Administrators During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Description.

OBJECTIVE: Interpreting during the COVID-19 pandemic caused stress and adverse mental health among sign language interpreters. The objective of this study was to summarize the pandemic-related work experiences of sign language interpreters and interpreting administrators upon transitioning from on-site to remote work. METHODS: From March through August 2021, we conducted focus groups with 22 sign language interpreters in 5 settings, 1 focus group for each setting: staff, educational, community/freelance, video remote interpreting, and video relay services. We also conducted 5 individual interviews with interpreting administrators or individuals in positions of administrative leadership in each represented setting. The 22 interpreters had a mean (SD) age of 43.4 (9.8) years, 18 were female, 17 were White, all identified as hearing, and all worked a mean (SD) of 30.6 (11.6) hours per week in remote interpreting. We asked participants about the positive and negative consequences of transitioning from on-site to remote at-home interpreting. We established a thematic framework by way of qualitative description for data analysis. RESULTS: We found considerable overlap across positive and negative consequences identified by interpreters and interpreting administrators. Positive consequences of transitioning from on-site to remote-at-home interpreting were realized across 5 overarching topic areas: organizational support, new opportunities, well-being, connections/relationships, and scheduling. Negative consequences emerged across 4 overarching topic areas: technology, financial aspects, availability of the interpreter workforce, and concerns about the occupational health of interpreters. CONCLUSIONS: The positive and negative consequences shared by interpreters and interpreting administrators provide foundational knowledge upon which to create recommendations for the anticipated sustainment of some remote interpreting practice in a manner that protects and promotes occupational health.

The impact of employment stress on college students: psychological well-being during COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Employment among final year college students in China has encountered unprecedented difficulties during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the high unemployment rate had led college graduates faced inadvertently mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. This study aims to investigate the impact of employment stress on college students' psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. An online survey consisting of demographic items (i.e., age, gender, subject major, type of university, and perceived severity of the current employment situation), Employment Stress scale, Employment Anxiety Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire was employed for data collection. A total of 2,627 final year college students were recruited, with participants displayed below moderate levels of employment stress and anxiety. Approximately 13.2% of participants were depressed and 53.3% considered the current employment situation as severe. Female students were stressed by individual factors and anxious, whilst male students were more depressed. Arts students were less depressed and students from comprehensive universities were more depressed and anxious compared to other types of universities. Students who perceived the employment situation as very severe displayed the lowest level of employment stress and anxiety. Gender, university type, family stress, college stress, and individual stress are predictors of psychological well-being among college students. The family environment, female identity, and stress from university play a crucial role in college students' psychological well-being. The government should pay more attention to the psychological well-being of graduate students and develop feasible measures to help them secure a job during this unprecedented time.

Psychological Well-being during Pregnancy: The Contribution of Stress Factors and Maternal-Fetal Bonding.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy and anticipation of the birth of the first child is considered a happy and exciting time. However, the stress involved in pregnancy has been found to put women at greater risk of impaired psychological well-being, or higher distress. Confusion in the theoretical literature between the terms 'stress' and 'distress' makes it difficult to understand the underlying mechanism that may enhance or reduce psychological well-being. We suggest that maintaining this theoretical distinction and examining stress from different sources, may allow us to gain new knowledge regarding the psychological well-being of pregnant women. OBJECTIVE: Drawing on the Calming Cycle Theory, to examine a moderated mediation model for the explanation of the dynamic between two stress factors (COVID-19-related anxiety and pregnancy stress) that may pose a risk to psychological well-being, as well as the protective role of maternal-fetal bonding. METHODS: The sample consisted of 1,378 pregnant women who were expecting their first child, recruited through social media and completed self-report questionnaires. RESULTS: The higher the COVID-19-related anxiety, the higher the pregnancy stress, which, in turn, was associated with lower psychological well-being. However, this effect was weaker among women who reported greater maternal-fetal bonding. CONCLUSION: The study expands knowledge of the dynamic between stress factors and psychological well-being during pregnancy, and sheds light on the unexplored role of maternal-fetal bonding as a protective factor against stress.

The impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the mental health of Italian people after 2 years of the pandemic: risk and protective factors as moderators.

Objective: This contribution aimed at investigating the moderating role of risk (e.g., the negative influence of COVID-19 on mental health) and protective (e.g., post-traumatic growth) factors on the relationship between the concern for war and stress and anxiety/depression levels among Italian people. Methods: A questionnaire that included sociodemographic characteristics, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4), the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), and questions formulated ad hoc about concern for war was administered online. A sample of 755 participants (65.4% females, mean age = 32.39, SD = 12.64, range = 18-75) was recruited by convenience and snowball sampling. The researchers spread the link to the questionnaire to their acquaintances asking them to fill it out and to recruit other people. Results: Results showed that concern for war significantly augmented the levels of stress and anxiety/depression in Italian people. Being a healthcare professional or having a chronic illness negatively moderated the effect of concern for war on stress and anxiety/depression. Instead, the negative influence of COVID-19 on mental health positively moderated the effect of concern for war on stress. Moreover, the overall positive changes after trauma and four of its five scales (i.e., Relating to Others, New Possibilities, Personal Strength, and Spiritual Change), negatively moderated the effect of concern for war on anxiety/depression. Conclusions: In conclusion, concern about the Russian-Ukrainian war affects the mental health of the Italian population even if they are not directly involved in the conflict.

Conflict in the EMS Workforce: An Analysis of an Open-Ended Survey Question Reveals a Complex Assemblage of Stress, Burnout, and Pandemic-Related Factors Influencing Well-Being.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) clinicians provide patient care within a high-stakes, unpredictable, and complex work environment in which conflict is inevitable. Our objective was to explore the extent to which added stressors of the pandemic exacerbated EMS workplace conflict. We administered our survey to a sample of U.S. nationally certified EMS clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2022. Out of 1881 respondents, 46% (n = 857) experienced conflict and 79% (n = 674) provided free-text descriptions of their experience. The responses were analyzed for themes using qualitative content analysis, and they were then sorted into codes using word unit sets. Code counts, frequencies, and rankings were tabulated, enabling quantitative comparisons of the codes. Of the fifteen codes to emerge, stress (a precursor of burnout) and burnout-related fatigue were the key factors contributing to EMS workplace conflict. We mapped our codes to a conceptual model guided by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report on using a systems approach to address clinician burnout and professional well-being to explore implications for addressing conflict within that framework. Factors attributed to conflict mapped to all levels of the NASEM model, lending empirical legitimacy to a broad systems approach to fostering worker well-being. Our findings lead us to propose that active surveillance (enhanced management information and feedback systems) of frontline clinicians' experiences during public health emergencies could increase the effectiveness of regulations and policies across the healthcare system. Ideally, the contributions of the occupational health discipline would become a mainstay of a sustained response to promote ongoing worker well-being. The maintenance of a robust EMS workforce, and by extension the health professionals in its operational sphere, is unquestionably essential to our preparedness for the likelihood that pandemic threats may become more commonplace.

Joy in the Workplace: The Mayo Clinic Experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed dynamics in the healthcare setting, through social distancing guidelines and new protocols to promote safety for employees and patients. Although some find themselves more productive in this spread out or virtual environment, the social aspect of the work day has dramatically changed. Staying connected during the day or week comes with additional efforts to seek out opportunities to network and collaborate with colleagues with this work environment shift. Healthcare workers are already at high risk of occupational burnout. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional stressors to individuals outside of their workload compromising a balanced work-life integration. Consequently, personal well-being may become jeopardized due to physical, mental, and social constraints brought on by the pandemic. Mayo Clinic has implemented a joy in the workplace structure to support individual well-being and create space for healthcare workers to be energized in order to put the needs of the patient first and deliver excellent care. Joy at Mayo Clinic contributes to joy in the workplace, reduced burnout, and personal well-being.

Gender differences in sense of coherence among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic halted everyday life in higher education along with social and psychological impacts. The objective of our study was to explore the factors related to sense of coherence (SoC) from a gender perspective among university students in Turkey. This is a cross-sectional survey conducted online with a convenience sampling method as part of the international COVID-Health Literacy (COVID-HL) Consortium. SoC was measured by a nine-item questionnaire that was adapted to the Turkish language, including socio-demographic information and health status, including psychological well-being, psychosomatic complaints, and future anxiety (FA). 1595 students from four universities, of whom 72% were female, participated in the study. Cronbach's alpha for the SoC scale was 0.75. Based on the median split of the individual scores, levels of SoC showed no statistically significant difference according to gender. Logistic regression analysis indicated that higher SoC was associated with medium and high subjective social status, studying in private universities, high psychological well-being, low FA, and none/one psychosomatic complaint. While results were similar among female students, type of university and psychological well-being showed no statistically significant association with SoC among males. Our results indicate that structural (subjective social status) and contextual (type of university) factors, along with gender-based variations, are associated with SoC among university students in Turkey.

Effects of the COVID-19-induced lockdown period on general well-being, perceived stress and activity levels in the Faroe Islands.

AIMS: Detrimental effects on health and well-being were reported during the COVID-19-induced lockdown periods in several countries, but these associations have not been studied in small-scale island societies. This study aimed to examine the lockdown period's impact on general well-being, perceived stress and activity levels in the Faroe Islands. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from two extensive population-based surveys of the general health conducted in November 2019 (the pre-COVID survey; n=2906), and four to six weeks into the first national lockdown (the lockdown survey; n=1204). RESULTS: A larger proportion of participants in the lockdown survey versus pre-COVID survey displayed excellent/very good self-rated health (68.1% vs. 62.0%; p<0.001), and the same pattern was observed for reporting good quality of life (85.7% vs. 82.7%; p<0.05). These associations remained statistically significant in a logistic regression model after adjusting for characteristics for which varying impact of the pandemic has been shown. Indicators of health behaviour showed that larger proportions of participants kept active during the lockdown survey versus pre-COVID survey, and these differences were statistically significant for physical, mental and spiritual activities (p<0.001). On the other hand, similar stress levels in the pre-COVID/lockdown periods were observed, but stratified analysis showed that participants with a high-stress level displayed better self-rated health in the lockdown period compared to the pre-COVID period (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that self-reported health and quality of life improved during the early phase of the COVID lockdown, and individuals reported higher activity levels associated with good mental health during the COVID-19-induced lockdown period.