The psychological impact of COVID-19 on socially isolated individuals – a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to assess the various psychological effects of the Coronavirus on those in isolation, the factors that cause these effects during the pandemic, as well as to discuss the recommendations and strategies that can be implemented to help reduce the negative psychological impact.

Design/methodology/approach

Databases such as MEDLINE (Ovid), excerpta medica dataBASE (Ovid) and cumulative index of nursing and allied health literature (Elton B. Stephens Company), as well as grey literature, were used as a part of the search design to locate articles published on this subject. The search design was formatted in a way that aided in locating articles concerning a variety of mental health effects. Title and abstract screening and full text screening were conducted by two reviewers. The risk of bias assessment was conducted using AMSTAR2. Data extraction was performed by one reviewer and was confirmed by the other.

Findings

A total of 28 articles were obtained, and of those, 11 were included in the review. From the data that was reviewed, the majority of the isolated individuals felt depressed and anxious. This negative psychological distress contributes to deteriorating health and quality of life in many people.

Research limitations/implications

Few limitations include limited published research papers pertaining to the subject of the mental health effects of COVID-19 on individuals in social isolation. Therefore, this suggests the need for higher quality studies to be performed on this topic.

Originality/value

This review provides a unique viewpoint on the effects of COVID-19, allowing for others to have a better understanding of the wide range of psychological impacts the pandemic has brought on.

Citation

Shankar, A., Yu, B.E. and Malvankar-Mehta, M. (2021), "The psychological impact of COVID-19 on socially isolated individuals – a systematic review", Mental Health Review Journal, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 247-257. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHRJ-09-2020-0062