COVID -19 Lockdowns & Social Isolation trauma & Emerging Psychological
wellbeing disaster
Abstract
1. Methodology
2.1 Study population and sample
The target population selected for the feedback consisted of people
living in Karachi, the biggest city of Pakistan, an industrial hub, and
a port city comprising over 15 million population. The demographics
included age, gender, profession, students, working, non-working,
retired, etc. The city was under complete lockdown since the
1st week of April. The study conducted in the third
week from April 16-23, 2020 for assessment of the mental health of the
population in the context of lockdown and confinement due to COVID-19 in
Pakistan. Because of the large population, the stigma attached to mental
health, and ethical considerations the questionnaire was kept anonymous
and the non-probability convenience sampling technique was used.
2.2 Rating instruments
The Research instruments PHQ-9 was used for the assessment of the mental
health of the population (Hartung et al., 2017; Hinz et al., 2006) under
three week’s lockdown during COVID-19. Patient Health Questionnaire
(PHQ-9) is a nine-item depression severity measuring instrument with a
total score of 20. Depression Severity Scores represent: 0-5 = Mild,
6-10 = Moderate 11-15 = Moderately Severe 16-20 = Severe Depression
(Kroenke et al., 2010).
2.3 Data analysis
PHQ-9 and GAD-7 forms designed on Google form and survey was conducted
online sharing the link via Emails, Whatsapp, Facebook, and LinkedIn
using 120 research volunteers. The respondent cooperation and readiness
were high as it was anonymous, easy to complete within 3 minutes, and
submission over a single click through their cell phone. The survey
started on 16th April and was completed within seven
days by April 21. The 6876 respondents completed the questionnaire
included in the final analysis. The statistical analytical tool SPSS was
implied for descriptive analyses. Initially, descriptive analysis was
conducted to describe the demographic characteristics of people of
Karachi under lockdown for the last three weeks (April 16 to April 23).
Secondly, the prevalence of severity of depression symptoms was measured
on a rating scale of minimal, mild, moderate, and severe stratified by
gender, age, and occupation.
2.4 Ethical considerations
The ethical committee of qualified psychiatrists and psychologists of
BasicNeeds Pakistan endorsed the study. The respondents were not
required to provide any personal information and identity to keep the
survey anonymous; consequently, they participated in the study.
2.5 Demographic information
The demographic elements consisted of age (18-65 in five categories),
gender (Male & Female), professionals, students, and entrepreneurs
(self-employed and owners of the SMEs). The study was confined to the
urban population who faced strict lockdown restrictions and complete
closure.