Mental health in the wake of COVID-19

The importance of communication campaigns

Mental health in the wake of COVID-19: the importance of communication campaigns

Emily Bariola, Associate Director, Mental Health Practice Lead - Kantar Public, Australia

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on community mental health and wellbeing. In this article, Emily Bariola illustrates the impact of the pandemic on community mental health in Australia. She discusses the critical role of government mental health communication campaigns as a preventative health measure in the wake of the pandemic, and shares recommendations as to their design and delivery.

According to the World Health Organisation, almost all people who are affected by a disaster or a population-level emergency will experience psychological distress. ¹While many recover from the short-term or acute mental health impacts of such events, some will incur long-term and even life-long suffering.

For the past 18 months, nations have worked hard to address the public health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Globally, there has also been a growing determination to address the subsequent community mental health impacts, as good mental health is known to be critical for the overall social and economic recovery of individuals, communities, and countries after a disaster or public emergency.

The strain on mental health services since the onset of the pandemic

In Australia, the state and territory governments have responded to COVID-19 with public health policies that have been largely successful in limiting the spread of the virus.However, some of these interventions have had significant social and economic impacts, such as social isolation, family separation, job loss and remote work or schooling.These impacts have in turn, negatively affected community mental health. Targeted surveys and service use monitors reveal the extent of the impact. For example:

The use of crisis and support organisations and online mental health information services have increased since the onset of the pandemic. In January 2021, there was a 21% increase in the number of calls made to Lifeline Australia (a crisis support service), compared to January 2019 and a 10% increase compared to January 2020.
Over the same time period, the mental health support organisation Beyond Blue saw its number of contacts (including calls, webchat and emails) increase by 30% compared to that of January 2019, with a 27% increase compared to January 2020. ²

27% of Australians increased their consumption of alcohol throughout the pandemic.

A representative survey of Australian adults conducted in April-May 2020 identified an increased incidence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, in comparison to measures taken prior to the onset of the pandemic. ³

Throughout 2020, Kantar Public conducted several research projects that highlighted the negative mental health impacts of the pandemic, including:

In a study conducted on behalf of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, we found that over one in four Australians (27%) increased the amount of alcohol they consumed throughout the pandemic. ⁴

A monitor study that we conduct on behalf of headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation to assess Australian young people’s mental health and wellbeing over time revealed that COVID-19 has had a detrimental impact on young people’s ability to cope with stress, their general wellbeing, and their ability to manage their daily activities at school, home and work. ⁵

The critical role of government communication campaigns

Mental health communication campaigns are important for both the promotion of good mental health and wellbeing, and in the prevention of mental illness in our communities.⁶They serve to cultivate resilience, build positive coping, and reduce mental health related stigma. Via the promotion of mental health literacy and mental health self-care, they can also serve to alleviate pressure on strained mental health services.The barriers to success for health-promotive media campaigns are well known. They include:

Competition for attention due to an increasingly cluttered media environment;

Use of inappropriate or poorly researched content (e.g. boring messages, or age- or gender-inappropriate content);

Targeting of behaviours that audiences lack the resources to change (e.g. due to low incomes or other experiences of disadvantage); and

Inadequate access to services for campaigns that promote help-seeking. ⁷

Addressing these barriers is a critical step in the development of mental health communication campaigns.

Recommendations to inform the design of timely, informative and engaging mental health communications

Kantar Public has conducted mental health communications research and evaluation in Australia for over two decades. Communications research plays an important role in ensuring that campaigns are appropriate, informative, engaging and effective in achieving their mental health promotion objectives.The following, evidence-based recommendations are provided for governments, practitioners and professional bodies in their development of mental health communication campaigns:1) Regularly review target audiences
Groups who are at-risk of a first episode of mental illness, groups with low mental health literacy, and those who experience barriers to accessing mental health support, change over time. It’s important that campaigns both reach and speak to the people who are most in need.2) Consider different formats for maximum engagement
Audiences are presented with vast amounts of information on a daily basis, particularly via digital and social media channels. Campaigns must be engaging in order to attract and retain the attention of audiences. Videos, polls, personal stories from people with lived experience and other interactive content could be considered.3) Tailor campaigns for vulnerable and marginalised groups
Campaigns that aim for wide reach of the general community are important. However, they can be ineffective at reaching or resonating with marginalised groups, many of whom also experience over-represented rates of mental illness. For example – people with low incomes, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from multicultural communities, people with a disability, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, young people, elderly people, new parents and people who live in regional or remote areas. Campaigns that are both targeted and tailored for vulnerable or marginalised groups are recommended.4) Regularly review messaging and concepts.
Language, messaging and concepts used in campaigns require regular review so as to ensure resonance. Attitudes, values and knowledge related to mental health shift over time. Communications need to be updated regularly to stay relevant and current for audiences.

In summary, demand for mental health services have peaked in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Despite the tragic nature of disasters and the substantive impacts on population health, such events have also been shown to provide impetus to build more sustainable health systems that can more readily respond to future crises.¹In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health communication campaigns will play an important role, as a critical preventative health measure. Timely, appropriate, informative and engaging Government mental health communications have never been more important.

Population-level emergencies and disasters have been shown to provide impetus to build more sustainable health systems that can more readily respond to future crises.

References and notes

1. Mental health in emergencies, World Health Organisation (2019)

2. Mental health services in Australia., Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2021)

3. Mental health of people in Australia in the first month of COVID-19 restrictions: a national survey. Fisher JRW, Tran TD, Hammarberg K, Sastry J, Nguyen H, Rowe H, Popplestone S, Stocker R, Stubber C, Kirkman M. Medical Journal of Australia, 213 (10): 458-464.4 (2020)

4. Alcohol consumption during COVID-19, The Alcohol and Drug Foundation & Kantar Public (2020)

5. Youth mental health and wellbeing over time. headspace National Youth Mental Health Survey & Kantar Public (2020)

6. Evidence-based mental health promotion resource. Melbourne. Keleher H, Armstrong R. Report for the Department of Human Services and VicHealth (2005)

7. Use of mass media campaigns to change health behaviour. Wakefield MA, Loken B, Hornik RC. Lancet, 376(9748): 1261–1271 (2010)