Since the novel coronavirus outbreak began in China, millions of people around the world have been placed under quarantine by their governments. Initial researches into the impacts of quarantine suggest that there are psychological impacts linked with being placed under quarantine.
Researchers from the Department of Psychological Medicine from King’s College in London published their findings online late February. They studied 24 literatures that investigated the psychological impacts that quarantine has on individuals.
Being placed under quarantine is not an experience that people enjoy. As social animals, humans are meant to socialize and interact with others. Moreover, individual liberty is seriously restricted and in severe cases completely taken away.
This research confirms our common sense in a scientific manner. By compiling the results of verified studies, researchers identified a few common stress factors that people face during and after quarantine.
During the quarantine researchers found these factors to be common across borders: duration, fears of getting infected, boredom, lack of supplies and lack of information. Often, one stressor could exacerbate the other stressors. For instance, inaccurate or insufficient information increased fears of infections.
Researchers also identified issues that troubled people after the quarantine. The stressor most relevant with this outbreak is financial concerns. With businesses shutting down as a measure to flatten the curve, many workers who live from paycheck to paycheck have been expressing fears over losing their jobs.
Financial aid does not seem to be a panacea to this problem. There were previous researches where participants believed that the amount of aid was too small to compensate for their losses caused by the quarantine.
So what can the government do to reduce the stress of its people? Most of the solutions seem fairly commonsensical.point 398 |
For instance, keeping the quarantine as short as possible unsurprisingly yielded more positive psychological effects.point 103 | Yet the infectious nature of this particular virus means that a longer quarantine might be necessary.point 189 | 1
Other than providing adequate amounts of supplies, the key aspect seems to be information. To be more specific, the government should provide a good amount of clear information to keep the population less worried.
Maintaining hotlines with experts is a good example. Not only does this mitigate the fear that arises from the lack of information, but also can alleviate the sense of isolation caused by the lack of communication.
Finally, researchers found out that people felt less stressed when they acted out of altruism rather than being forced by the government. In particular, people generally seemed to cope better when they were staying inside to help protect the most vulnerable in society.
Let us not forget that there are millions of people going through the same difficulties. Share your thoughts with us in the comments and show our solidarity in this fight! Follow us on Facebook to keep your self updated on the breaking news and information as well.
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