Self-rated mental health among sexual health service clients during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, British Columbia, Canada

Prev Med. 2021 Dec:153:106789. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106789. Epub 2021 Sep 8.

Abstract

We investigated self-reported mental health during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-May 2020), using a survey of HIV-testing and sexual health service clients from British Columbia, Canada (N = 1198). Over half (55%) reported their mental health as poor at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than double that of the general Canadian population in the same time frame (22%). Acknowledging that this burden of poor mental health that is likely to persist in the coming years, we propose that sexual health clinics should facilitate access to mental health supports as a low-barrier point of primary care contact.

Keywords: Mental health; Service integration; Sexual health; Syndemic theory.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • British Columbia / epidemiology
  • COVID-19*
  • Canada
  • Health Services
  • Humans
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemics*
  • SARS-CoV-2