Addressing mental health concerns of children and adolescents: A scoping review of psychosocial interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic
摘要
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated creating and adapting interventions to address the emerging as well as pre-existing mental health concerns of children and adolescents. This scoping review aimed to a) identify interventions addressing mental health concerns of children and adolescents during the pandemic and b) elucidate and critically review the nature and components of these interventions. Studies with delivered interventions addressing mental health concerns of children and adolescents, published in peer-reviewed journals in English between March 2020 and May 2023 were screened across five databases. Data charting using a predefined data extraction template was conducted by two reviewers. Out of 838 studies,19 were selected. These included Randomised Control Trials (RCTs), individual and community case studies, feasibility and comparison studies, focusing on either creating interventions to address pandemic-specific concerns or adapting evidence-based interventions to meet the pre-existing mental health concerns in the context of the pandemic. These were developed and delivered mostly by mental healthcare professionals through digital modalities and used therapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), trauma-focused therapy, and mindfulness-based therapy. Studies reported mixed results in terms of outcomes of interventions, with primary focus of evaluation being on reduction of symptoms post intervention. However, studies had limited focus on the lived experiences of children and adolescents of the pandemic and its impact on their mental health and well-being. There was a need to create and adapt evidence-based interventions to address the existing and emerging mental health concerns of children and adolescents during the pandemic. Brief interventions through digital means by trained mental health professionals were used to fulfil this need. Future research may focus on understanding efficacy and adaptability of these interventions in different contexts.