Well-being in a pandemic: exploring the mental health impact of COVID-19

This webinar explored the emerging evidence on the psychological and social experiences of adults in the UK during the COVID-19 outbreak and considered the policy options for mitigating the negative mental health impacts of the pandemic.

Drawing on contemporary research funded by the Nuffield Foundation and others, the panel considered the patterns in people’s experience of mental health and well-being during the pandemic. Questions considered included:

• To what extent are people’s mental health experiences linked to other adverse effects experienced during the pandemic, such as their financial circumstances and their experience of the virus itself?
• Which groups of people are most at risk of poorer mental health during this time?
• What can NHS England and the government do to meet the mental health needs of the population and to mitigate the mental, as well as physical, health impacts of COVID-19?

The webinar featured the latest evidence from the UCL COVID-19 Social Study, led by Dr Daisy Fancourt, which is tracking the experiences of over 70,000 people in the UK each week. We also drew on IFS research, presented by Xiaowei Xu on the mental health effects of the first two months of lockdown and social distancing, and consider the experiences of parents and carers living on low incomes during the pandemic, as evidenced by Dr Ruth Patrick’s Covid Realities research. Dr Dharmi Kapadia provided insights from her work on ethnic inequalities in mental health and James Sanderson from NHS England considered the findings in the context of the NHS response to the pandemic.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with Molly Imrie, Events & Communications Officer (mimrie@nuffieldfoundation.org)