The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on mental and psychosocial health in the Philippines: A scoping review

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remained at elevated risk for the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic because of persistent stressors to their health systems. Simultaneously facing high infection rates, strict containment measures and natural disasters, the Philippines provides important grounds for health research in LMICs. This review examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected mental and psychosocial health in the Philippines. This scoping review included literature in English from 2020 to mid-2022 from PubMed, PsycInfo and SCOPUS, and used the PRISMA-ScR and PCC-question model. Two independent reviewers conducted blind article screening and data extraction using COVIDENCE software, followed by consensus building, data charting and analyses. This work identified 405 publications across PubMed (N = 56), PsycInfo (N = 106) and SCOPUS (N = 243), of which 76 articles addressed the Philippines. Article types included 54 research articles, 10 opinion pieces, 4 literature reviews, 6 letters to journals, 1 study protocol and 1 other report. These findings focused primarily on health professionals (N = 23) and educators/learners (N = 22) and reported mostly on moderate-to-severe clinical outcomes such as fear, depression, anxiety or stress. Coping behaviors, like resiliency and other ways of adapting to the pandemic, including religious, spiritual and community-oriented approaches highlighted experiences with stringent infection prevention and control measures to contain COVID-19 in the Philippines. The COVID-19 pandemic brought severe challenges to mental and psychosocial health in the Philippines. The literature focused mostly on healthcare workers and educators/learners, and moderate-to-severe mental health outcomes in these groups. There is a need to expand studies to other sociodemographic groups and communities across the Philippines. Future work stands to benefit from more in-depth qualitative, mixed methods, longitudinal and representative quantitative research in LMICs following this pandemic. Literature reviews remain important to synthesize post-pandemic experiences by providing context for future studies and health practice in the Philippines and other LMICs.


On online learning and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives from the Philippines
To discuss online learning and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, including to analyze what measures cognizant of the resources of a developing country are needed to mitigate the mental stresses from online learning including videoconferencing.
Reflections on negative mental health consequences of online learning during the pandemic.

Non-applicable (NA)
Educator/learner population (N=Not applicable (NA)) in an educational setting in the Philippines.
Generally, learning that considers the child´s mental health should take cognizance of the circumstances that children faced in their daily social environment.While there is evidence that specific actions contribute to better mental health among children, the outcomes are contingent on context.In the case of a developing country context, teaching children in the COVID-19 era requires the consideration of existing social inequalities and economic constraints to safeguard their mental health in the online learning environment.This study noted that many suggestions for developed settings that do not work in developing contexts.

Googling depression and major depressive disorder after mental health legislation and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines: An infodemiological study
To utilize Google Trends to explore Filipinos´ interest towards depression over time.
About depression, mental health law, stress, and mental health law.
Online search queries to collect primary data using for Google keywords (Google Trends).
Adult and general population (N=NA) in community setting in the Philippines.
Findings suggest increasing interest in understanding depression manifestations, etiology, diagnostic tests, and local context including available services, vernacular translations, and educational materials.Anxiety-related search queries were noted with depression as a mood and disorder.Overall, online public interest in depression in the Philippines increase with the MH law approval and decrease during the pandemic.(Research article)

The mediating role of psychological distress on the link between socioecological factors and quality of life of Filipino adults during COVID-19 crisis
To determine how psychological distress operates as an underlying mechanism in the impact of socio-ecological factors on the quality of life of Filipino adults during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.
Addressed safety at home, trust in public institutions, and financial difficulties, psychological distress, anxiety, and quality of life during the early phase of COVID-19 community quarantine in the Philippines.Also brings up psychosocial support services, and relevant policymaking.
Survey using primary data using the Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI), the 9-item My Life Today (MLT) scale, the National Resilience Scale, a Safety at home-single item question, and a financial difficulties single-item question.
Adult population (N=401) across community settings in the Philippines.
Findings indicate that psychological distress is a psychological mechanism that can partly explain why socioecological factors (i.e., safety at home, financial difficulties, and trust in institutions) impact the quality of life of Filipino adults during the COVID-19 crisis.People facing threats to home safety, financial instability, and distrust in public institutions in times of crisis are vulnerable to emotional symptoms, and reduced quality of life.These findings, therefore, provide evidence regarding the role of ecological factors in the development of and prevention from mental health concerns and diminished quality of life in times of great adversities such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Measurement and community antecedents of positive mental health among the survivors of typhoons Vamco and Goni during the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines
To examine the psychometric measurement and antecedents of positive mental health in people who concurrently experienced two disasters of different nature (i.e., typhoons and COVID-19 crisis), focusing on the survivors of typhoons Vamco and Goni that hit the Philippines in November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Focused on positive mental health, individual resilience, community resilience, social responsibility, depression, anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and psychological distress.
Survey to collect primary data using the 14-item Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, the 10item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Conjoint Community Resilience Assessment Measure (CCRAM-10), and the 7-item Perceived Social Responsbility Scale (PSRS).
Disaster-affected population (N=447) in community settings in the Philippines.
Found support for the structural validity, criterion validity, and internal consistency of the MHC-SF items in assessing positive mental health in Filipinos.Findings indicate that MHC-SF is a valid and reliable tool in assessing EWB, SWB, and PWB of Filipinos in times of multiple disasters.Findings confirmed that social responsibility mediates the positive influence of community resilience on the three subscales of positive mental health among Filipinos within the contexts of extreme weather events occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic.Community resilience is (also) an important promoting factor of positive mental health in times of calamities.People tend to have better mental health when they perceive their local community as capable of with-standing disasters, and those who have a strong perception of social responsibility develop greater levels of emotional, social, and psychological well-being.

COVID-19 mental health prevalence and its risk factors in south east asia
To synthesize the extant literature reporting the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological outcomes of people in Southeast Asia, and its risk factors.
Health professionals population and general adult population (N=NA), in several countries in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.
The scoping review examined the impact of COVID-19 and its restrictions on the mental health of people in SEA countries between January 2020 and March 2021, and its associated risk factors.Elevated prevalence of adverse mental effects was noted in most of the countries as the pandemic progressed over time, with Malaysia and the Philippines reporting higher prevalence rates.

Knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and coping strategies of students during COVID-19 pandemic
To assess knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and personal coping strategies of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Philippines.
Discusses knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and coping strategies, and interventions such as stopping school, online blended learning approach, extension of the opening of classes for the next semester, lockdown.
Online survey (crosssectional study) to collect primary data, no standardized scale, with questions adapted from other works.
Educator/learner population: College students (N=530) in educational settings: two local private colleges in province of the Davao del Sur, Mindanao, in the Philippines.
The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant concerns among students, especially among communities in the Southern Philippines, but were aware of the COVID-19 pandemic and possessed sufficient knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic.Majority of the students displayed anxiety during the entire period of lockdown.62.64% (332/530) were worried about food and financial resources, and about 54% to 56% of the students avoid social contact, large meetings, and gatherings.A considerable percentage of some students showed distrust towards the COVID-19 vaccine.In the context of education, students were reluctant toward the implementation of online-blended learning approach due to technological and financial constraints.Students were responsive and satisfied with the government´s initiatives to limit the spread of infection, though there was increased anxiety felt by students regarding getting the COVID-19 infection.

Mental health and protective strategies among community-based health workers in region 3, Philippines during COVID-19 pandemic
To determine the prevalence of mental health outcomes among communitybased health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the association of protective strategies with symptoms of mental health outcomes.
Focused on stress, anxiety, and depression and association of protective strategies (e.g., breathing exercise, social connection, and religious or spiritual practices) and the symptoms of mental health outcomes.
Survey to collect secondary data using Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21).
Health professionals population (N=324) in community setting in Central Luzon (Region 3) in the Philippines.
This study showed that communitybased health workers had considerable rates of symptoms of stress (10%), anxiety (26%), and depression (18%).The engagement in regular spiritual/religious activities was found to be associated with symptoms of stress.Those individuals who regularly engage in religious/spiritual practices were less likely to report symptoms of stress, yet, this association should be further explored.

Students´ online learning challenges during the pandemic and how they cope with them: The case of the Philippines
To investigate students´ online learning experience in higher education within the context of the pandemic, by specifically identifying the extent of challenges that students experienced, how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their online learning experience, and the coping strategies that they used to confront these challenges.
Adrdressed anxiety, boredom, sadness, isolation, quality of and challenges to online learning and student mental health.
Survey/questionnaire and focus group discussions to collect primary data using a new scale.
Educator/learner population: students (N=200) in an educational setting in the Philippines.
Findings revealed that the online learning challenges of students varied in terms of type and extent.Their greatest challenge was linked to their learning environment at home, while their least challenge was technological literacy and competency.Based on the students´ responses, their challenges were also found to be aggravated by the pandemic, especially in terms of quality of learning experience, mental health, finances, interaction, and mobility.The current study found the pedagogical, logistical, socioeconomic, technological, and psychosocial online learning challenges that students experience within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Overall findings indicate that the extent of challenges and strategies varied from one student to another.

Pandemic Anxiety Scale (CPAS-11): Development and initial validation
To develop an 11-item Coronavirus Pandemic Anxiety Scale (CPAS-11) to measure symptoms of anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic to help identify individuals who might need mental health services.
Brings up pandemic anxiety, general anxiety, depression, emotional, social, and psychological wellbeing, positive and negative affect, emotions, and fear of COVID-19.
Adult population (N=925) in general community settings in different regions across the Philippines.
A two-factor structure was identified and confirmed, corresponding to somatic and non-somatic symptoms of anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic.The total scale and subscales showed good internal consistency, convergent, and discriminant validity.Results suggest that the CPAS-11 is a promising tool for screening severity and frequency of COVID-related anxiety and for identifying individuals who might need mental health services.For anxiety (GAD-7 ≥ 15), 13.84% of our participants have severe anxiety, for depression, 21.73% have moderately severe depression (PHQ-9 = 15 to 19), and 9.08% have severe depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 20), and most were still under quarantine.This study revealed that the fear of COVID-19 is common among nursing students but is more evident in the first year of the program.Although students' fear is correlated to their willingness and preparedness to care for patients with COVID-19, the willingness factor predicts their fear of the virus.We also conclude that the students fear of COVID-19 predicts their psychological disposition of increased irritability, poor sleep quality, and intention to quit nursing school.The first-year nursing students are found to be the most fearful among the group.The students' fear of COVID-19 is associated with their high irritability, poor sleep quality, and desire to quit nursing school.

Correspondence churchinaction: The role of religious interventions in times of COVID-19
The authors have called for the need to establish psychological support structures that cater to people´s mental health in the time of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.To be more holistic, we extend this call to include people´s spiritual well-being as well.
We highlight the initiatives of the Philippines´ religious sector.

Students' Perceptions and Anxieties towards e-Assessment: Implications for Online Classroom Delivery
To determine if the students´ anxieties and perceptions have a significant correlation with one another.As well as identifying the challenges that students and teachers face with online classroom delivery and how these affect their perceptions and anxiety levels.
Focuses on students´perceptions and anxieties related to electronic assessments (e-assessments) as a result of the lockdown and other measures during the pandemic.
Online survey (crosssectional) to collect primary data using the 18-item Perceived This study was the first to report the consequences of compassion fatigue in frontline nurses during the pandemic in terms of job outcome and quality of care.This study found that the pandemic has contributed to compassion fatigue among frontline nurses in the Philippines, which has adversely affected their work outcomes as well as the quality of care provided in their respective units.Psychological resilience was identified as a protective factor against CF, resulting in higher job satisfaction, increased retention, and a higher perception of quality of nursing care.

Prevalence and predictors of coronaphobia among frontline hospital and public health nurses
To determine the prevalence as well as the predictors of coronaphobia in frontline hospital and public health nurses.This protocol focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying effects affecting the mental wellbeing of college students.The results of this proposed study will tailor the possible coping strategies to meet the specific needs of college students nationwide, thereby promoting psychological resilience.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on The Physical and Mental Health of Adolescents in The Philippines
To discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical and mental health of adolescents in the Philippines.
About suicide, and the Mental Health Act.The already-challenged state of mental well-being of Filipino children has been worsened by the pandemic and the lack of good mental health policies by the government.While there is increasing awareness for mental health, children-centered interventions remain deficient.Approaches must integrate commonly-known mental health effects on children with existing and anticipated Philippine societal issues.Without doing so, it may be expected that as the COVID-19 pandemic is mitigated, a mental health epidemic will replace it.

Psychological distress during pandemic COVID-19 among adult general population: Result across 13 countries
To survey the general population across 13 countries (Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam) to measure the prevalence and severity of psychological distress.
Focused on distress, stress, anxiety, and depression.
Online survey collect primary data using the COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index.
Vietnam had the highest prevalence of psychological distress followed by Egypt, where Nepal had the least.The prevalence of distress in the Philippines was (185/357), 51.8%, and univariate, (6.55), multivariable (6.10), and log reg (6.58), all showed significant (>0.001)COVID-19 distress.The study findings indicate that psychological distress varies across different countries.

The factor structure and measurement invariance of the phq-4 and the prevalence of depression and anxiety in a southeast asian context amid the COVID-19 pandemic
To examine the psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) as an ultra-brief screener of depression and anxiety in the Philippines during the first few months of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Focused on depression, anxiety, and health promotion materials via survey linked
Online survey to collect primary data using PHQ-4, DASS-S, PHQ-9, and GAD-7.
Adult population (N=4524) in community settings in Southern Luzon, the National Capiital Region (NCR), and Central Luzon in the Philippines.
Findings support the PHQ-4 instrument´s reliability and validity.The two-factor structure of the PHQ-4 held across configural, metric, and scalar invariance tests demonstrating the scales‚ and robust ability to assess depression and anxiety symptoms across age, gender, and locale.The PHQ-4 is a reliable, valid, and costeffective measure of depression and anxiety symptoms.In estimating prevalence rates, among those screened by the PHQ-4 cut-off scores for depression (n = 1905, 42.11%) and anxiety (n = 1853, 40.96%), 81.78% and 94.06% were consequently screened by the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, respectively.

Discovering the resilience of working women from academic institutions in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis
To investigate the resilience Filipino women employed in educational institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic as they tried to balance their roles as wives, mothers, and workers.It specifically explored these research objectives: (1) to know the level of resilience of the Filipino working women; (2) to recognize the challenges experienced by working women from educational institutions in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of these challenges to them; and (3) to discover how the Filipino working women in the academe coped with these challenges.
Focused on stress, mental exhaustion, emotional disturbances, and resiliency.Online survey/questionnaire and interviews to collect primary data using the Modified Personal Resilience Scale (PRS).
Educator/learner population: women in academia (N=326) in various community settings across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao in the Philippines.
The findings indicated that the Filipino mothers working in academia have a very high level of resilience manifested by their resiliency characteristics and behaviors, thus having the strong capacity to recover quickly from the difficulties they may have experienced during this pandemic.This claim is substantiated by the results of the PRS, and the various themes conceptualized from the participants´ online responses in the open-ended questions.Themes reflecting working women´s ways of coping: self-efficacy, social relatedness, spiritual connectedness, self-nurturance.

Benefits and challenges of telepsychiatry services in SouthEast Asian nations during the COVID-19 era: An integrative review
To examine current evidence on the benefits and challenges of telepsychiatry services of SouthEast Asian nations, namely Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
About grief and telepsychiatry services.Document review to collect secondary data.

NA
This integrative review presented additional support on the benefits and challenges of telepsychiatry services in SouthEast Asian nations during the COVID-19 pandemic.This integrative review showed little to no evidence of telepsychiatry services within SouthEast Asian nations.The concept or notion of telepsychiatry services (e.g.telemedicine in mental health, telemental services, e-health, e-mental health, digital psychiatry and digital health interventions) within SouthEast Asian nations is exceptionally novel and needs further research in the medical and allied health discipline.

Stigma towards health care providers taking care of COVID-19 patients: A multicountry study
To investigate the prevalence of stigmatization during the COVID-19 pandemic among HCPs in seven different countries using the Stigma COVID-19 Healthcare Providers tool (S19-HCPs).
About stigma (fear of get-ting infected with COVID-19) and stress.
Survey to collect primary data using the Stigma COVID-19 Healthcare Providers (HCPs) scale.
Findings concluded that participants from the seven countries overall, although having perceived high levels of stigmatization, still observe positively by their respective communities and, in their utmost, highly motivated to care for COVID-19 patients.There are still lurking fears of discrimination among HCPs.The levels of fear were higher among the Filipino healthcare providers with the mean of 1446.1.Despite the level of fear, Filipino healthcare providers showed the highest score in their readiness to care for COVID-19 patients.Furthermore, Filipino healthcare providers think that they are perceived well while caring for COVID-19 patients and they also obtained the highest mean score in the willingness to follow precautionary measures (1379.17).

Digital health literacy, online informationseeking behaviour, and satisfaction of COVID-19 information among the university students of East and South-East Asia
This study aimed to investigate the digital health literacy (DHL) level, information-seeking behaviour, and satisfaction of information on COVID-19 among East and South-East Asia university students.
Focsued on fear and stress.
Online survey to collect primary data using COVID-Health Literacy University Students Questionnaire and the Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI).
Revealed that digital health literacy is a key concept to utilize trustworthy online sources and to achieve higher satisfaction with online information sources, which in turn could be beneficial in making appropriate decisions related to their health.In the Philippines, university students reported that fear of getting infected is significantly associated with the utilization of Facebook as the information source (p=0.035).Findings revealed that safeguarding privacy was positively associated with the utilization of trust worthy online resources among Chinese and the Philippines students.

The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on gastroenterologist s in Southeast Asia: A mixedmethods study
To determine the impact of the pandemic on clinical demands including burnout among gastroenterologists within the region, and to identify risk factors for burnout and determine regional stressors.
Survey, including qualitative data to collect primary data using the 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory-HumanServices Survey (MBI-HSS).
This study showed that burnout affects gastroenterelogists.The majority of respondents were male, and this suggests that the speciality has a male predominance in certain Southeast Asian counties.50.1% of all gastroenterologists who participated in this study reported that they were unaware of or did not have access to support services, and this was associated with an almost two-fold increase in burnout risk.Proportions varied between countries (34.9%-70%) with the Philippines (58.9%) in the middle.In countries with predominant private health-care systems, for example, the Philippines, gastroenterologists reported that they were encountering fewer but sicker patients, in addition to a reduction in income.

The practice of teleneurology in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic
To describe the practice of teleneurology among Filipino neurologists and determine the factors affecting its adoption using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model and its constructs, namely performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions.
Online survey to collect primary data using a 22-item checklist based on literature review and key informant interviews from telemedicine /neurology, and the 17-item UTAUT questionnaire.
Health professionals neurologists (N=147) in a healthcare/clinical setting in the Philippines.
The UTAUT model and the construct of Performance Expectancy (PE) and Facilitating Conditions (FC) provide significant explanatory power on the adoption of teleneurology in a resource-limited setting.The majority of the participants have practiced teleneurology during the pandemic utilizing social media applications via videoconferencing through desktop/laptop.Only half of them were affiliated to an institution with teleneurology and had to learn on their own or through their colleagues.

Palattao et al 2021 (Research article)
Determining factors contributing to the psychological impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic using machine learning This study aims to determine the possible contributing factors to stress, anxiety, depression, and adverse psychological impact on the general population of the Philippines resulting from the pandemic using machine learning approaches.
Focuses on mental health, stress, anxiety, depression, and the psychological impact of COVID-19.Also features machine learning and feature selection.
Online survey to collect primary data using Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 Items (DASS-21) and Impact of Event Scale -Revised -22 items (IES-R).
Educator/learner population: network of alumni (N=2119), in an educational setting: University of the Philippines in Luzon, the Philippines.
Machine learning techniques were used in this research to generate predictive models to help identify possible cases and predictors of mental health conditions among the general population in the Philippines.The results show that longer hours at home, on social media, age, how people rate their own health, preexistence of a neuropsychiatric condition; wanting information on availability and effectiveness of a medicine or vaccine, being concerned for their family, feeling discriminated; and symptoms of body pain, difficulty breathing, and cough were good predictors of individuals being adversely impacted psychologically by the pandemic and others having elevated levels of stress, anxiety, depression.This research supports machine learning in the field of detection and diagnostics of mental health conditions.

COVID-19 impact on the quality of life of teachers: A cross-sectional study
To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life primarily related to the mental health of licensed professional teachers in the Philippines.
The This study found that the mean composite score of teachers in the COV19-QoL scale was 2.75 for nearly six months since the Philippines implemented strict community quarantine.This study found no significant difference in the impact of COVID-19 on QoL based on perceived threat and between those with either knowledge of the presence or absence of any COVID-19 cases near their residence.The findings also indicated that the greatest impact of the pandemic among teachers was on their personal safety followed by quality of life in general whereas mental health was the least impacted.This paper reveals that higher levels of reported disruption during the pandemic are related to reported increases in internalizing and externalizing behaviors after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for young adults (Mage=20) and their mothers in all five countries (including the Philippines), with the exception of one association in Thailand.For most mothers supportive parenting likewise attenuated the impact of pandemicrelated disruptions on internalizing and externalizing behavior.Associations between disruption during the pandemic and young adults and their mothers‚ reported increases in internalizing and externalizing behaviors were attenuated by higher levels of youth disclosure, more supportive parenting, and lower levels of destructive adolescent-parent conflict prior to the pandemic.

Sunga et al 2021 (Research article)
The 'plantito/plantita' home gardening during the pandemic To explore and describe the rise of (plantito/plantita) home gardening among Filipinos during the pandemic.It will explore the conditions and situations surrounding this home gardening during the pandemic based on participant perspective, discovery, motivations, and how it will influence their mental health as well as their community.
Discusses stress and home gardening as an intervention.Brings up positivity, good well-being, and happiness, and relief from stress, anxiety, and boredom.
Online survey to collect primary data using no specified scale.This article gives social, academic, and policy implications.Socially, people with disabilities should be given protection and a platform where they can also experience that the government provides for their political and civil rights.Academically, teachers need to maximize the use of emergency remote teaching through assistive technologies so that there will be no interruption on the virtual-based education of the students with disabilities.Additional laws and policies need to be created to uphold the rights of people with disabilities since they too can experience numerous challenges on their education, mental health, and entire well-being due to the pandemic.

Provision of mental health services for people with disabilities in the Philippines amid Coronavirus outbreak
To call on the need for the provision of mental health services for people with disabilities, and for the governments to have a rights-based dis-ability lens in their policy decisionmaking relative to emergency health response and recovery health plans amidst the corona virus outbreak in the Philippines.
Focused on stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal behavior, self-harm, and inclusive health responses.

NA
People with disabilities (N=NA) in general community settings across the Philippines.
Legislative policies need to protect the welfare of people with disabilities in the post-pandemic period, and there is a need for innovative research concerning the mental health needs and conditions of people with disabilities to examine and address the impact of COVID-19 to their mental health.Recommendations for mental health provision to fulfill the healthcare needs of people with disabilities in the post-pandemic society: Inclusivity in emergency and recovery health response, ensuring rights of people with disabilities and more research, addressing health barriers through disability-inclusive recovery and legaslative policies, providing accessible health services and health support such as provision of digital health interventions through online health counseling and teleconferencing.Educators/learners (N=NA) in educational settings in several countries, including the Philippines.
A considerable prevalence of undergraduates have encountered sleep problems during the pandemic.Moreover, sleep pattern disruption and increased sleep duration were consistently reported, while sleep quality and insomnia symptoms varied across included populations.In the Philippines, the mean sleep duration reportedly decreased during the pandemic from 7.5 to 6.7 h.The researchers also explicated the relationship between sleep and mental health during the pandemic.

A chain mediation model on COVID-19 symptoms and mental health outcomes in Americans, Asians and Europeans
To test the model triggered by physical symptoms resembling COVID-19 infection, in which the need for health information and perceived impact of the pandemic mediated the path sequentially, leading to adverse mental health outcomes.
Addressed psychological impact of COVID-19, depression, anxiety and stress, and physical symptoms resembling COVID-19, and health information.
Online survey to collect primary data using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the National University of Singapore (NUS) COVID-19 questionnaire.
Adult population (Ntotal=4612, NPhilippines=619) in various community settings across the Philippines, China, Iran, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, the United States of America, and Vietnam.
This study found that Poland and Pakistan were two countries with the highest mean scores in IES-R and DASS-21 anxiety, depression and stress scales.In contrast, Vietnam had the lowest mean scores in IES-R and DASS-21 anxiety, depression and stress scales, while Poland and the Philippines were the two countries with the highest levels of anxiety, depression and stress.The chain mediation model shows that the need for health information and the perceived impact of the pandemic exert sequential mediating effects on mental health outcomes in people who experience physical symptoms that resemble COVID-19 infection.Chain mediation model showed the need for health information, and the perceived impact of the pandemic were sequential mediators between physical symptoms resembling COVID-19 infection (predictor) and consequent mental health status (outcome).Excessive and contradictory health information might increase the perceived impact of the pandemic.

Gender differences in psychosocial status of adolescents during COVID-19: a sixcountry crosssectional survey in Asia Pacific
To describe the early experiences of adolescents with the COVID-19 pandemic: to examine if adolescents´ studying (i.e.,studying at home, receiving remote education, and receiving online courses) and leisure activities (i.e., playing physically, watching TV, playing video games, and sleeping in daytime), psychosocial status, and sources of COVID-19 information differed by gender in Bangladesh, India,Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam in the Asia Pacific Region.
Addressed adolescent mental health, adolescents feeling isolated, stressed, and experiences during the stay-at-home orders, including 1) studying (i.e., all types of study activities), 2) remote education by school, 3) online courses, 4) playingphysically, 5) sleeping during daytime, 6) watching TV, and 7) playing games on TV, phones, and tablets.Also discussed negative psychosocial status.
Survey to inquire secondary data using no standardized scale.
Findings revealed that surveyed adolescents in six countries in the Asia Pacific region were experiencing a severe disruption of education and lack of access to distance learning.During the first year of the pandemic, the physical and psychosocial status of female youth were more negatively affected than male peers.Female adolescents in the Philippines and Vietnam had 2.22 times (95%CI: 1.14, 4.33,p=0.02)and 1.23 times (95%CI: 1.03, 1.47, p=0.02) higher odds about feeling unsafe or insecure than their male counter-parts.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health of Asians: A study of seven middleincome countries in Asia
To compare the mental health status during the pandemic in the general population of seven middle income countries (MICs) in Asia (China, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam).This multinational study across 7 MICs in Asia showed that Thailand reported the highest mean IES-Rand DASS-21 anxiety, depression and stress scores.In contrast, Vietnamese reported the lowest mean scores in IES-R and DASS-21 anxiety, depression and stress scales.The Philippines had a high DASS-21 anxiety score (mean = 10.60,SD = 8.01), and a high depression score (mean = 9.72, SD = 8.99).The risk factors for adverse mental health include age <30 years, high education background, single and separated status, discrimination by other countries, contact with people with COVID-19 and worries about COVID-19.The protective factors for mental health include male gender, staying with children, staying with 6 or more people, employment, confidence in own´s doctors diagnosing COVID-19, high perceived likelihood of surviving COVID-19, spending less time on health information, hand hygiene practice and wearing a face mask.