Health Science Inquiry (Journal)
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The Economic Impact of Pandemics on Individuals, Families and Communities
Get PDFThe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has dramatically changed systems, routines, practices, and beliefs. This pandemic will have a number of adverse outcomes which will continue to be felt for years to come. Understanding the economic impact on individuals, families, businesses, and communities is essential for developing strategies that reduce long-term negative outcomes. However, we are unaware of any evidence synthesis describing the range of economic or financial impacts associated with pandemics. In this paper, we analyze data from a large scoping review of previous pandemics to identify the various economic and financial impacts of global disease outbreaks on families, businesses, and economic systems. We found that individuals and families around the world experienced a reduction or loss of income associated with losing their job or having to work fewer hours, which increased their psychological stress. At the same time, the pandemic has negatively affected the financial outcomes of small and medium-sized businesses due to reduced economy activity, disruptions in the supply chain, and weakened infrastructure. We examine these findings in the light of two topics. First, we discuss how vulnerable and minority communities experience the various financial and economic impacts of global outbreaks to a greater degree compared to the general public. We also discuss the concepts of flexibility and resilience in order to understand how businesses respond to the changes brought forth by the pandemic
The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Rumination as an Overlooked Psychopathological Mechanism
Get PDFFor over a year, the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been humanity’s greatest public health issue. During this time, clinicians and researchers worldwide have reported on the negative psychological impact due to safety measures that were implemented to curb the spread of this deadly disease (i.e., closing businesses, working from home, social distancing, quarantine, etc.). However, most of the published research about this topic has focused on complications to instrumental functioning (e.g., job loss, reduced income, shortages of supplies, increased child-care burdens, etc.), and how they lead to increased distress and reduced well-being. In contrast, little research has investigated how pandemic life has changed how we think about ourselves, our circumstances, and our futures, or how these cognitive factors have led to worsened mental health. In this article, we reviewed the literature on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a major focus on the overlooked cognitive process of rumination (i.e., repetitive thinking about oneself and one’s problems). We explained how rumination translated pandemic-related stress into psychopathological outcomes such as increased depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and substance misuse. We also recommended strategies for mitigating the negative effects of pandemic-related rumination and provided recommendations for future directions regarding pandemic-related mental health research
