The proposed study is aligned with the ongoing ADR ‘OCCUMEN Study’ which examines the prevalence and correlates of mental disorders (MDs) across occupational categories. This related study will examine sex-specific temporal trends in mental disorders and causes of death across occupation types before and following the onset of the Covid-19 (C-19) pandemic and examine associations with family responsibilities.
Improving outcomes for children known to social services (including those in care and those receiving in-home support or child protection measures) is a key policy priority. Prior research suggests care experienced children have worse adult outcomes compared to peers across numerous domains including health, education, and employment. However, the majority of research is based outside the UK, uses small samples, and excludes children known to social services but never in care. Improved understanding of both the predictors and the long-term outcomes of childhood interaction with social services is needed to inform targeted prevention and support programs.
The unique circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic poses formidable health, economic and social challenges for governments around the world. The impact of the coronavirus varies both between and within countries due to unique coronavirus risk factor profiles, transmission patterns within populations and different approaches used by governments to combat the spread of the virus.
Older people are at high risk for Covid-19 and may have been impacted (and psychologically distressed) by the quarantine – entailing disconnection from family, community and usual health, social support and planned treatments. These may be amplified for people in rural areas where services are limited and both transport and digital-based communication services relatively poor. These issues may be more challenging for people living with dementia, generally associated with ageing, functional decline (Melis et al., 2013) and increased prescribing (Browne et al., 2017; Clague et al., 2017).
From March 2020 individuals, wider society and health care systems have all been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (WHO, 2020). It is likely that the pandemic has more severely impacted on people with prior mental health problems: generally research suggests that, pre-pandemic, people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) (here we include schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and major depressive disorder) could expect to experience considerable social exclusion, poor physical health and die up to 20 years earlier than the general population (Walker et al, 2015, NICE, 2018). They are also vulnerable to conditions such as diabetes (T2), cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke and cancers, often due to lifestyle factors – poor diet, smoking, and lack of exercise (Lawrence et al, 2013). More generally the pandemic and subsequent lockdown may have exacerbated their physical and mental health. Many people with SMI either live alone or in shared community residential settings, and the closure of community-based rehabilitation centres during the pandemic, and absence of community activities, can exacerbate this sense of isolation and loneliness, leading potentially to mental health deterioration. Moreover, a reduction in services may limit access to routine health care including community and hospital psychiatric services.
Social determinants of health are defined by the World Health Organization as the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2020). Living in an area of deprivation is a key field of study. Recent research suggests that while area-level deprivation may persist, there is movement of people in and out of these areas (the churn) (Jiang, Pacheco & Dasgupta, 2019). Within NI we can use indicators of deprivation and disadvantage to identify areas and populations that appear to stagnate, i.e. are persistently lacking in social and especially economic change. Additionally, we will examine the socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics of families who migrate from such communities and the lasting impact, if any, that relocation may have on the life-chances of their children.
