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LitCovid-sentences  

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Id Subject Object Predicate Lexical cue
T1 0-13 Sentence denotes Rapid report:
T2 14-115 Sentence denotes Early demand, profiles and concerns of mental health users during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
T3 117-125 Sentence denotes Abstract
T4 126-136 Sentence denotes Background
T5 137-332 Sentence denotes Trends in contact with a high volume national digital mental health service (DMHS), the MindSpot Clinic, provide a unique opportunity to assess the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
T6 334-341 Sentence denotes Methods
T7 342-409 Sentence denotes Three methods were used to assess changes in responses to COVID-19.
T8 410-627 Sentence denotes First, website visits and call centre traffic were compared across two time periods: the “comparison period” (1 to 28 September 2019), and during the early weeks of the “COVID-19 pandemic” (19 March to 15 April 2020).
T9 628-793 Sentence denotes Second, demographic and symptom data were compared across all patients who started an assessment during the comparison (n = 1650) and the COVID-19 period (n = 1668).
T10 794-953 Sentence denotes Third, responses to questions about the impact of COVID-19 introduced to the assessment from 19 March 2020, and reports from treating therapists were examined.
T11 955-962 Sentence denotes Results
T12 963-1122 Sentence denotes There was an 89% increase in website visits and a 90% increase in telephone calls to the clinic in the early COVID-19 period compared to the comparison period.
T13 1123-1276 Sentence denotes There was a higher proportion of females in the COVID-19 sample (76.9% vs. 72.9%), and a lower proportion reported being in employment (52.8% vs. 60.8%).
T14 1277-1446 Sentence denotes There was a small but significant increase in the severity of anxiety symptoms, and an increase in the number of people reporting recent onset of anxiety and depression.
T15 1447-1547 Sentence denotes However, there were no differences between groups in severity of symptoms of distress or depression.
T16 1548-1658 Sentence denotes Most people (94%) reported concern about the impact of COVID-19, and 88% reported making changes in lifestyle.
T17 1659-1716 Sentence denotes Older adults had higher levels of concern about COVID-19.
T18 1717-1868 Sentence denotes Therapists reported that patients were concerned about how to access testing, manage quarantine, financial security and the effect of social isolation.
T19 1870-1881 Sentence denotes Conclusions
T20 1882-2035 Sentence denotes COVID-19 has resulted in a significant increase in contact with an established DMHS, but we have not yet detected increases in baseline symptom severity.
T21 2036-2230 Sentence denotes With the prospect of prolonged restriction of movement, DMHS such as MindSpot could play an important role in both providing clinical services and monitoring the mental health of the population.
T22 2232-2242 Sentence denotes Highlights
T23 2243-2310 Sentence denotes • Demand for service contact has increased in response to COVID-19
T24 2311-2384 Sentence denotes • Anxiety increased, and more patients reported recent onset of symptoms
T25 2385-2485 Sentence denotes • High volume DMHS can provide real time data on changes in psychological symptoms in the community
T26 2487-2502 Sentence denotes 1 Introduction
T27 2503-2582 Sentence denotes The spread of the Coronavirus, COVID-19, has been both dramatic and horrifying.
T28 2583-2748 Sentence denotes Between the 1st of March and 15th of April 2020 the number of known cases in Australia grew from 24 to 6447, with more than 60 deaths (Australian Health Department).
T29 2749-3072 Sentence denotes Based on observations of the effects of outbreaks in countries including China, Iran and Italy, the Australian state, territory and federal governments issued unprecedented restrictions on travel, social gatherings and non-essential business, with the immediate effect of putting a significant number of people out of work.
T30 3073-3239 Sentence denotes The medical and economic effects of COVID-19 are expected to be profound, and possibly comparable to those of the influenza pandemic of 1918 and the great depression.
T31 3240-3475 Sentence denotes The psychological effect on the population is also expected to be significant, either from fear of the illness itself, the distress and shock associated with changes in routine, the loss of social contact and the economic consequences.
T32 3476-3832 Sentence denotes This means that demand for mental health services is likely to increase at a time when many face to face mental health services have had to temporarily close or, with recently announced additional Australian Government funding (Office of the Prime Minister, 2 April, 2020), attempt to transition to telehealth, either using telephone or video conferencing.
T33 3833-4234 Sentence denotes There are early reports of high levels of concern among health professionals and others (Druss, 2020; Ayanian, 2020) but few studies have attempted to measure the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological symptoms in large samples of the population, and at this early stage, little is known about the immediate impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of people accessing mental health services.
T34 4235-4374 Sentence denotes The MindSpot Clinic (www.mindspot.org.au) is a national digital mental health service (DMHS) funded by the Australian Department of Health.
T35 4375-4684 Sentence denotes MindSpot launched in late 2012 and has since provided telephone and online psychological assessments, treatment and referral services to more than 100,000 Australian adults, of whom nearly 30,000 have enrolled in free online treatment courses (Titov et al., 2015, Titov et al., 2017; Titov et al., submitted).
T36 4685-4964 Sentence denotes A feature of MindSpot is the routine measurement of symptoms at assessment, during treatment and at follow up using validated self-report scales that are sensitive to change, and importantly, the distribution of MindSpot users closely matches that of the population of Australia.
T37 4965-5151 Sentence denotes On 19th March 2020, one week after the World Health Organization confirmed COVID-19 as a pandemic, additional questions specific to COVID-19 were added to the online MindSpot assessment.
T38 5152-5367 Sentence denotes Hence the data collected by MindSpot on large samples of people from all over Australia provides an opportunity to evaluate the early psychological effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and may assist in service planning.
T39 5368-5552 Sentence denotes This report examines service demand, symptom profiles, and concerns of MindSpot users during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, from 19 March 2020 to 15 April 2020.
T40 5554-5564 Sentence denotes 2 Methods
T41 5566-5594 Sentence denotes 2.1 Participants and design
T42 5595-5662 Sentence denotes Three methods were used to assess changes in responses to COVID-19.
T43 5663-5922 Sentence denotes First, website visits and call centre traffic were compared across two time periods; the “comparison period” from 1 September 2019 to 28 September 2019, and the “COVID-19 period” from 19 March 2020 to 15 April 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia).
T44 5923-6123 Sentence denotes The comparison period was selected based on analyses indicating it represented a ‘typical’ month of service delivery prior to severe bushfires experienced across Australia in late 2019 and early 2020.
T45 6124-6397 Sentence denotes The “COVID-19 period” represented the period of rapid growth in numbers of confirmed cases in Australia (from 691 on 19 March to 6447 on 15 April 2020) and coincided with the introduction of specific questions about the impact of COVID-19 in the MindSpot online assessment.
T46 6398-6457 Sentence denotes Data from the website was extracted using Google Analytics.
T47 6458-6527 Sentence denotes Call centre volume was examined using records and management reports.
T48 6528-6699 Sentence denotes Second, demographic and symptom data for patients who started an assessment during the comparison period (n = 1650) and the early COVID-19 period (n = 1668) were compared.
T49 6700-6859 Sentence denotes Third, responses to questions about the impact of COVID-19 introduced to the assessment from 19 March 2020, and reports from treating therapists were examined.
T50 6860-6968 Sentence denotes All participants gave consent for their results to be used for quality assurance and development activities.
T51 6969-7102 Sentence denotes Ethical approval for collection of this data was obtained from the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee (5201200912).
T52 7104-7117 Sentence denotes 2.2 Measures
T53 7118-7264 Sentence denotes Demographic details were recorded as described in other reports (Titov et al., 2015; Titov et al., 2017; Titov et al., submitted for publication).
T54 7265-7503 Sentence denotes The symptom measures were scores on the K-10, a measure of psychological distress (Kessler et al., 2002), the GAD7 measuring generalized anxiety (Kroenke et al., 2001), and the PHQ9 measuring symptoms of depression (Spitzer et al., 2006).
T55 7504-7608 Sentence denotes Patients also answered questions about how long they thought they had symptoms of anxiety or depression.
T56 7609-7731 Sentence denotes All patients answered questions about suicidal ideation, plans and intent as described previously (Nielssen et al., 2015).
T57 7732-7846 Sentence denotes On 19 March 2020, several additional questions about the impact of COVID-19 were added to the MindSpot assessment.
T58 7847-8012 Sentence denotes MindSpot therapists were also asked about the concerns raised by patients, in order to develop guidelines to assist MindSpot therapists in addressing those concerns.
T59 8013-8203 Sentence denotes Information about those concerns was derived from an examination of 50 written case summaries prepared by therapists answering telephone calls, completing assessments or providing treatment.
T60 8205-8218 Sentence denotes 2.3 Analyses
T61 8219-8449 Sentence denotes Descriptive analyses of demographic and symptom characteristics were conducted and group differences between the comparison sample and COVID-19 sample were made using ANOVA and chi-square statistics to a significance level of .05.
T62 8450-8599 Sentence denotes Given the increased danger of COVID-19 to older adults, analyses were also conducted examining potential differences between older and younger users.
T63 8600-8783 Sentence denotes Brief thematic analyses were conducted in the COVID-19 sample to examine how their own behaviour had changed in response to COVID-19, and secondly, issues and concerns affecting them.
T64 8784-8898 Sentence denotes Information was derived from semi-automated thematic analysis of responses to the additional assessment questions.
T65 8900-8910 Sentence denotes 3 Results
T66 8912-8941 Sentence denotes 3.1 Website and call volumes
T67 8942-9026 Sentence denotes Visits to the MindSpot Clinic website increased by 89% between the two time periods.
T68 9027-9302 Sentence denotes Call volumes to MindSpot increased by at least 90% in the same period, although the exact figure is not available due to difficulty tracking the higher volume at the time when MindSpot staff were transitioning to fully working from home, in response to government directives.
T69 9303-9458 Sentence denotes Phone records also show that average duration of calls increased by 100%, reflecting the level of distress of callers and the complexity of reported needs.
T70 9460-9504 Sentence denotes 3.2 Symptom and demographic characteristics
T71 9505-9585 Sentence denotes Table 1 compares the demographic and symptom characteristics of the two samples.
T72 9586-9684 Sentence denotes Patients in the COVID-19 sample were more likely to be female and were less likely to be employed.
T73 9685-9850 Sentence denotes Despite the lower proportion in employment, there was no difference in reported psychosocial stressors, including financial stress or concerns about physical health.
T74 9851-9975 Sentence denotes The COVID-19 sample had higher anxiety symptoms, and more people who self-reported being anxious than the comparison sample.
T75 9976-10154 Sentence denotes A greater proportion of the COVID-19 sample reported that symptoms of anxiety and depression had emerged within the previous two weeks, although the proportions were still small.
T76 10155-10284 Sentence denotes However, no differences were found in the level of symptoms of psychological distress, depression, or suicidal thoughts or plans.
T77 10285-10347 Sentence denotes Table 1 Comparison of demographic and symptom characteristics.
T78 10348-10435 Sentence denotes Comparison sample1–28 September 2019 COVID-19 sample19 March–15 April 2020 Significance
T79 10436-10448 Sentence denotes Demographics
T80 10449-10525 Sentence denotes Mean age (SD), range 35.0 (13.5), 18–86 34.9 (13.6), 18–92 F = 0.04, p = .84
T81 10526-10590 Sentence denotes 18–29 years 43.6% (720/1650) 44.6% (744/1668) ꭙ2 = 0.32, p = .57
T82 10591-10655 Sentence denotes 35–54 years 45.6% (752/1650) 43.9% (732/1668) ꭙ2 = 0.96, p = .33
T83 10656-10726 Sentence denotes 55 years and over 10.8% (178/1650) 11.5% (192/1668) ꭙ2 = 0.44, p = .51
T84 10727-10801 Sentence denotes Proportion female 72.9% (1203/1650) 76.9% (1282/1668) ꭙ2 = 6.67, p = .01⁎⁎
T85 10802-10890 Sentence denotes Capital city or surrounding suburbs 60.4% (932/1544) 58.7% (904/1541) ꭙ2 = 0.92, p = .34
T86 10891-10976 Sentence denotes Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 4.7% (55/1163) 3.3% (39/1188) ꭙ2 = 3.20, p = .07
T87 10977-11050 Sentence denotes University education 42.4% (654/1543) 41.2% (633/1535) ꭙ2 = 0.42, p = .52
T88 11051-11135 Sentence denotes Employed full or part time 60.8% (939/1544) 52.8% (811/1536) ꭙ2 = 20.17, p < .001⁎⁎⁎
T89 11136-11203 Sentence denotes Marital status 36.9% (568/1541) 34.7% (534/1539) ꭙ2 = 1.39, p = .24
T90 11204-11206 Sentence denotes 


T91 11207-11312 Sentence denotes Psychosocial stressors% (number) of patients who indicated the following stressors were a current concern
T92 11313-11402 Sentence denotes Relationships with friends or family 53.4% (881/1650) 52.7% (879/1668) ꭙ2 = 0.16, p = .69
T93 11403-11493 Sentence denotes Work, study, or vocational activities 47.9% (791/1650) 44.8% (748/1668) ꭙ2 = 3.20, p = .07
T94 11494-11562 Sentence denotes Physical health 37.6% (621/1650) 35.2% (587/1668) ꭙ2 = 2.14, p = .14
T95 11563-11624 Sentence denotes Finances 26.2% (432/1650) 24.6% (410/1668) ꭙ2 = 1.12, p = .29
T96 11625-11627 Sentence denotes 


T97 11628-11650 Sentence denotes Psychological symptoms
T98 11651-11709 Sentence denotes K-10 (mean and SD) 31.2 (7.6) 31.4 (7.8) F = 0.52, p = .47
T99 11710-11769 Sentence denotes PHQ-9 (mean and SD) 14.3 (6.2) 14.4 (6.2) F = 0.24, p = .63
T100 11770-11830 Sentence denotes GAD-7 (mean and SD) 12.1 (5.1) 12.5 (5.3) F = 4.13, p < .05⁎
T101 11831-11909 Sentence denotes Self-reported anxiety 86.2% (1317/1528) 89.3% (1341/1502) ꭙ2 = 6.74, p < .01⁎⁎
T102 11910-11980 Sentence denotes Anxiety < two weeks 3.0% (39/1317) 5.4% (73/1341) ꭙ2 = 9.97, p < .01⁎⁎
T103 11981-12060 Sentence denotes Self-reported depression 69.5% (1062/1528) 69.0% (1037/1502) ꭙ2 = 0.08, p = .78
T104 12061-12134 Sentence denotes Depression < two weeks 4.0% (43/1062) 6.8% (71/1037) ꭙ2 = 7.90, p < .01⁎⁎
T105 12135-12205 Sentence denotes Suicidal thoughts 30.6% (423/1383) 27.5% (367/1334) ꭙ2 = 3.11, p = .08
T106 12206-12283 Sentence denotes Suicidal intentions or plans 3.7% (51/1383) 2.9% (39/1334) ꭙ2 = 1.24, p = .27
T107 12284-12294 Sentence denotes ⁎ p < .05.
T108 12295-12306 Sentence denotes ⁎⁎ p < .01.
T109 12307-12320 Sentence denotes ⁎⁎⁎ p < .001.
T110 12322-12363 Sentence denotes 3.3 Concern about and impact of COVID-19
T111 12364-12468 Sentence denotes Table 2 shows responses to the COVID-19 questions added to the MindSpot online assessment in March 2020.
T112 12469-12735 Sentence denotes Although only a small number of users personally knew someone who had been infected by the virus, the majority (93.8%) in the COVID-19 sample were concerned about getting COVID-19, and 87.1% reported they had made changes in lifestyle or routines to avoid infection.
T113 12736-13026 Sentence denotes In response to a question about changes they had made, as shown in Table 2, around half (47.9%) reported they were following recommended strategies including social distancing, self-isolation, and increased hygiene, and 18.5% reported changes associated with efforts to maintain resilience.
T114 13027-13075 Sentence denotes Table 2 Response to COVID-19 specific questions.
T115 13076-13081 Sentence denotes % (n)
T116 13082-13143 Sentence denotes Have you or has anyone you know been diagnosed with COVID-19?
T117 13144-13164 Sentence denotes No 97.1% (1030/1054)
T118 13165-13199 Sentence denotes Yes, someone I know 2.8% (23/1054)
T119 13200-13225 Sentence denotes Yes, myself 0.1% (1/1054)
T120 13226-13228 Sentence denotes 


T121 13229-13275 Sentence denotes Overall, how concerned are you about COVID-19?
T122 13276-13312 Sentence denotes Extremely concerned 21.1% (310/1471)
T123 13313-13350 Sentence denotes Moderately concerned 42.8% (630/1471)
T124 13351-13386 Sentence denotes Slightly concerned 29.9% (440/1471)
T125 13387-13422 Sentence denotes Not at all concerned 6.2% (91/1471)
T126 13423-13425 Sentence denotes 


T127 13426-13504 Sentence denotes Have you had to make any changes to help you to manage the impact of COVID-19?
T128 13505-13541 Sentence denotes Significant changes 29.0% (425/1463)
T129 13542-13575 Sentence denotes Moderate changes 34.2% (500/1463)
T130 13576-13607 Sentence denotes Slight changes 23.9% (349/1463)
T131 13608-13635 Sentence denotes No changes 12.9% (189/1463)
T132 13636-13638 Sentence denotes 


T133 13639-13692 Sentence denotes If you have made changes, what has been most helpful?
T134 13693-13798 Sentence denotes Following practical and recommended measures (e.g., social distancing, increased hygiene) 47.9% (346/723)
T135 13799-13945 Sentence denotes Practicing resilience (e.g., establishing new routines, goals and plans, self-care, decreasing use of social media and news sites) 18.5% (134/723)
T136 13946-13948 Sentence denotes 


T137 13949-13975 Sentence denotes What has been challenging?
T138 13976-14070 Sentence denotes Financial insecurity, including difficulties accessing groceries and essentials 12.4% (90/723)
T139 14071-14172 Sentence denotes Compounding of pre-existing symptoms or Increased feelings of anxiety, stress or worry 11.5% (83/723)
T140 14173-14225 Sentence denotes Managing relationships within the home 4.6% (33/723)
T141 14227-14253 Sentence denotes 3.4 Analysis by age group
T142 14254-14467 Sentence denotes Table 3 shows symptom scores on the K-10, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 by age group for both the comparison sample and the COVID-19 sample, and the level of concern and changes to routine by age group for the COVID-19 sample.
T143 14468-14704 Sentence denotes Baseline symptom scores on the K-10, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 decreased with age for both samples, however the degree of concern about COVID-19 increased with age, from 15.0% in the 18–29 years age group to 35.5% in the over 55 years age group.
T144 14705-14864 Sentence denotes Similarly, changes to routine increased with age, with 24.8% of 18–29-year olds reporting significant changes compared to 37.8% of the over 55 years age group.
T145 14865-14947 Sentence denotes Table 3 Analyses of symptom scores and COVID-19 responses by sample and age group.
T146 14948-15002 Sentence denotes 18–29 years 30–54 years 55 years and over Significance
T147 15003-15020 Sentence denotes Comparison sample
T148 15021-15069 Sentence denotes  K-10 32.6 (7.3) 30.3 (7.6) 29.1 (8.1) F = 22⁎⁎⁎
T149 15070-15132 Sentence denotes  PHQ-9 15.2 (6.1) 13.6 (6.3) 13.2 (6.0) F = 14.13, p < .001⁎⁎⁎
T150 15133-15195 Sentence denotes  GAD-7 12.8 (5.0) 12.0 (5.2) 10.3 (5.5) F = 14.67, p < .001⁎⁎⁎
T151 15196-15211 Sentence denotes COVID-19 sample
T152 15212-15273 Sentence denotes  K-10 33.2 (7.1) 30.4 (8.0) 28.1 (8.1) F = 39.12, p < .001⁎⁎⁎
T153 15274-15336 Sentence denotes  PHQ-9 15.6 (5.8) 13.6 (6.3) 12.3 (6.5) F = 27.30, p < .001⁎⁎⁎
T154 15337-15399 Sentence denotes  GAD-7 13.2 (5.0) 12.4 (5.4) 10.5 (5.8) F = 16.77, p < .001⁎⁎⁎
T155 15400-15497 Sentence denotes Knows someone diagnosed with COVID-19 2.6% (17/666) 3.3% (21/632) 2.3% (4/171) ꭙ2 = 0.88, p = .64
T156 15498-15603 Sentence denotes Extremely concerned about COVID-19 15.0% (100/665) 23.5% (149/634) 35.5% (61/172) ꭙ2 = 37.31, p < .001⁎⁎⁎
T157 15604-15708 Sentence denotes Made significant changes to routine 24.8% (165/663) 30.8% (195/629) 37.8% (65/171) ꭙ2 = 13.40, p < .01⁎⁎
T158 15709-15719 Sentence denotes ⁎ p < .05.
T159 15720-15731 Sentence denotes ⁎⁎ p < .01.
T160 15732-15745 Sentence denotes ⁎⁎⁎ p < .001.
T161 15747-15791 Sentence denotes 3.5 Patient concerns reported by therapists
T162 15792-16135 Sentence denotes Therapists reported that patients presented with a range of concerns, including anxiety about either themselves or an elderly relative contracting COVID-19, job loss, financial insecurity and concern about obtaining essential items (12.4%), compounding pre-existing anxiety or stress (11.5%), and managing relationships within the home (4.6%).
T163 16136-16300 Sentence denotes Health professionals and front-line staff contacting MindSpot reported concerns for their own safety and concerns that they may inadvertently infect family members.
T164 16302-16335 Sentence denotes 4 Discussion and recommendations
T165 16336-16491 Sentence denotes Data from a large sample of users of a national DMHS reveals a significant early psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Australian community.
T166 16492-16627 Sentence denotes There have been large increases in website visits, and number and duration of calls to the clinic when compared to a comparison period.
T167 16628-16717 Sentence denotes Overall numbers of patients accessing online assessment services significantly increased.
T168 16718-17008 Sentence denotes There are several possible reasons for the increased demand for MindSpot services, including increased distress levels in the population, the temporary closure of existing face-to-face services, and increased promotion of MindSpot by other services that were unable to meet patients' needs.
T169 17009-17419 Sentence denotes Patients using MindSpot during this early pandemic period reported a broad range of concerns, including greater anxiety, but also concerns about issues such as where to access COVID-19 tests, financial insecurity, and how to adjust to isolation and other changes in lifestyle, including having children at home, being unable to visit family members and friends, and advice about supporting people in isolation.
T170 17420-17565 Sentence denotes Many of these challenges involve themes of loss and adjustment, but also reflect exacerbation of existing tensions within families or workplaces.
T171 17566-17801 Sentence denotes While most users acknowledged concern about COVID-19, there was only a small but significant increase in the level of symptoms of anxiety, and no increase on measures of depression, overall psychological distress, or suicidal thoughts.
T172 17802-18052 Sentence denotes Few people have themselves had COVID-19 or even know of someone who has it, and the reasons reported by people for contacting the clinic include fear and uncertainty, the practical effect of the economic shutdown and changes in lifestyle and routine.
T173 18053-18195 Sentence denotes We found that older adults, who are typically more stoical in their rating of mood symptoms, had higher levels of concern than younger adults.
T174 18196-18546 Sentence denotes Anecdotally, our therapists reported that people contacting the service who are themselves health workers or are in other front-line services dealing with the public are often highly anxious about their own health, which is also understandable given the alarming reports of deaths among frontline doctors and nurses elsewhere (Fusaroli et al., 2020).
T175 18547-18654 Sentence denotes The study was conducted early in the pandemic in Australia before the health effects have been widely felt.
T176 18655-18921 Sentence denotes We have not yet detected increased alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other manifestations of familial discord, or anxiety of senior school students and university students about their future prospects from protracted closure of colleges and cancellation of exams.
T177 18922-19033 Sentence denotes We also did not find an increase in patients reporting suicidal thoughts or plans, as might have been expected.
T178 19034-19194 Sentence denotes However, given the current predictions of the need for long term reduction in social contact to slow the spread of infection, those concerns may emerge in time.
T179 19195-19318 Sentence denotes The current study provides evidence of behavioural changes and mental health concerns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
T180 19319-19399 Sentence denotes Limitations include the use of a comparison group from a period six months past.
T181 19400-19758 Sentence denotes However, the period of September 2019 was selected following analyses indicating it represented the “usual” patient profile (Titov et al., 2020 submitted for publication), and avoided the period immediately prior to March 2020 during which Australia experienced a severe bushfire crisis that disrupted the summer holiday period and affected the major cities.
T182 19759-20020 Sentence denotes It is possible that the demographics and symptoms of the comparison and COVID-19 groups reported here differ for reasons unrelated to the COVID-19 crisis, although given the remarkably consistent characteristics of MindSpot users we believe that to be unlikely.
T183 20022-20046 Sentence denotes 5 Clinical implications
T184 20047-20230 Sentence denotes MindSpot and other DHMS have an important role in filling gaps that have emerged in services and providing access to evidence-based care to people who are unable to leave their homes.
T185 20231-20354 Sentence denotes It is also possible for DMHS to deliver brief crisis-focused interventions to assist people to manage stressful situations.
T186 20355-20475 Sentence denotes Notwithstanding the uncertainty about the future, our focus has been on managing and responding to the increased demand.
T187 20476-20747 Sentence denotes In response, we have increased the number of staff responding to telephone calls and have developed website-based and other materials to direct consumers to other more relevant services, as well as providing practical information to support people to maintain resilience.
T188 20748-20865 Sentence denotes Based on patient reports we have also developed clinical guides to prepare therapists to respond to patient concerns.
T189 20866-21158 Sentence denotes Reports from our therapists indicate that existing patients with chronic forms of anxiety and depression have reported feeling overwhelmed at first, but that they have recognised the need to practice psychological coping skills that are shown to be helpful in managing anxiety and depression.
T190 21159-21400 Sentence denotes We expect that there will be a need to create additional resources as the pandemic unfolds, as the early indications are that infections have been contained in Australia for now, and new challenges emerge, in particular economic uncertainty.
T191 21401-21654 Sentence denotes There has been an increase in distress in both our clinical and operational staff, which again is unsurprising in the circumstances, and which is being managed by an increased attention to the well-being of staff, many of whom are now working from home.
T192 21656-21670 Sentence denotes 6 Conclusions
T193 21671-21798 Sentence denotes The early psychological impact of COVID-19 in Australia includes increased demand for services provided by the MindSpot Clinic.
T194 21799-21963 Sentence denotes A small, but significant increase in severity of symptoms of anxiety was identified, but no changes in severity of psychological distress or symptoms of depression.
T195 21964-22155 Sentence denotes This examination of the early effects of the COVID19 pandemic in Australia indicates that particular attention should be paid to specific groups, including older adults and frontline workers.
T196 22156-22314 Sentence denotes In addition, the long-term psychological effects of COVID-19 and the economic consequences shutdown should be carefully monitored to support service planning.
T197 22315-22378 Sentence denotes Our service model appears to be meeting the needs of consumers.
T198 22379-22638 Sentence denotes Services like MindSpot, that are accessed by large and representative samples of the population and routinely measure psychological symptoms, are in a unique position to report on the ongoing psychological impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and its consequences.
T199 22640-22676 Sentence denotes Access to data and manuscript review
T200 22677-22761 Sentence denotes All authors had access to the data and reviewed the final version of the manuscript.
T201 22763-22781 Sentence denotes Sources of funding
T202 22782-22840 Sentence denotes MindSpot is funded by the Australian Department of Health.
T203 22841-22886 Sentence denotes There was no external funding for this study.
T204 22888-22921 Sentence denotes Declaration of competing interest
T205 22922-22991 Sentence denotes The authors have no other potential conflicts of interest to declare.