A dynamic analytical tool is being implemented to monitor the health, psychosocial and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as the crisis unfolds. A longitudinal survey is distributed via a network of hospitals, provincial/national organizations and web platforms. The survey information can be linked to provincial health administrative data and metrics derived from social media activity based on artificial intelligence methods. Targeted questions are included for critical populations such as healthcare workers and people with chronic illnesses.
The current situation unfolding with regards to the COVID-19 virus is changing core aspects
of people's lives in a unique manner. This study aims to examine the psychological, social,
and financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic at various stages of the outbreak.
Individuals 12 years and older are recruited from three main groups: general population,
people with chronic illnesses and healthcare professionals.
An online survey is distributed via multiple hospitals, provincial/national organizations,
and web-based platforms at various phases of the outbreak. The survey includes validated
questionnaires and custom-made questions to asses the current situation. It notably addresses
the following themes: demographics, COVID-19 symptoms and diagnoses, social distancing
practices and social interactions, living situation, financial situation, family and
work-related challenges, access to healthcare, as well as sleep, physical and mental health.
The survey is available in English and French. It is built on a decisional tree structure
with customized subsets of questions based on previous answers.The survey contains an
adolescent version and an adult version, and also includes targeted questions for individuals
with a current diagnosis of a mental/medical illness. Consent is also sought to link data
from parent-child dyads to enable finer analyses of family dynamics. Healthcare staff are
invited to answer questions about work-related difficulties, usefulness of virtual tools for
clinical practice, as well as moral distress and moral resilience in the context of clinical
practice. Healthcare staff who are short on time can chose fill out an abbreviated version.
Participants have the option of enabling linkage to linked to provincial health
administrative data, and to provide their twitter and facebook handle for social media and
mood monitoring through artificial intelligence algorithms. Participants have the option of
being followed longitudinally during and after the outbreak.
Inclusion Criteria:
- All individuals who are at least 12 years of age
Exclusion Criteria:
- None
Southlake Regional Health Centre
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
CHEO Research Institute
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hôpital en santé mentale Rivière-des-Prairies (CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal)
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
McGill University
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
University of Montréal
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Rébecca Robillard, PhD
613-722-6521 - 6279
rebecca.robillard@uottawa.ca
Rébecca Robillard, PhD, Principal Investigator
University of Ottawa