SynthesisJournal of psychiatric research2022
Global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health services: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of psychiatric research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 65 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
65 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 118 citations in OpenAlex.
- Utilization of mental health services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic - a systematic review and meta-analysis.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026Pooled it
- What works where and why? A systematic review and meta-analysis of digital interventions addressing suicide-related outcomes in community, education and clinical settings.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Large Language Models for Mental Health Applications: Systematic Review.JMIR mental health · 2024Pooled it
- Association between the COVID-19 pandemic and psychiatric symptoms in people with preexisting obsessive-compulsive, eating, anxiety, and mood disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of before-after studies.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2023Pooled it
- Addressing mental health need after COVID-19: a systematic review of remote EMDR therapy studies as an emerging option.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of Remotely Delivered and Web-Based Interventions on Depression Severity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2026Trial
- Utilization of Psychiatric Hospital Services Following Intensive Home Treatment: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on psychotropic medication prescriptions for children and adolescents: a scoping review of quantitative longitudinal studies.Annals of general psychiatry · 2026Review
- Fidelity, Implementation Determinants, and Patient-Level Outcomes Following Initial Implementation of NAVIGATE in the Early Psychosis Intervention-Spreading Evidence-Based Treatment (EPI-SET) Study.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Article
- Mental healthcare utilization among migrants and Swedish-born adults accounting for probable needs, 2006-2022.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2026Article
- Mental Health Service Preparedness during a Pandemic: A Delphi Study in Slovenia.Zdravstveno varstvo · 2026Article
- "We Had Unexpected Reactions from Everywhere": A Qualitative Study on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Supported Accommodations for People with Serious Mental Disorders.Portuguese journal of public health · 2026Article
- Trends in Inpatient Psychiatry Referrals: A Retrospective Study of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Services.Cureus · 2026Article
- Trends in the economic burden of mental disorders over twelve years: the Netherlands mental health survey and incidence study.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Global, regional and national prevalence of mental disorders among women at childbearing age from 1992 to 2021.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Primary care for depression before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective pre-post study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Integrating psychosocial health into disaster risk management: Insights from COVID-19 in Durán, Ecuador.PloS one · 2026Article
- The effect of COVID-19 and socioeconomic inequalities on emergency department accesses for psychiatric conditions.PloS one · 2026Article
- Psychosocial experiences of cancer patients across the COVID-19 era: Lasting implications for oncology.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2025Article
- A Pilot Qualitative Study to Better Understand the Factors Related to Suicides and Inform Public Health Action Across a Predominantly Coastal and Rural Area: Cornwall, Southwest of England.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The purpose of the review was to investigate the changes in mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review of qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies was conducted from February 2021 to March 2022 using four databases and five languages. 29 studies reporting on mental health services in 63 countries were included. Findings were organised according to nine major topics: (1) lack of preparedness vs. timely response and flexible solutions, (2) changes in access, referrals, and admission, (3) impacts on outpatient, community and psychosocial services, (4) inpatient: reorganisation of hospital psychiatric units/acute wards, (5) diagnostic and therapeutic adaptations, (6) effects on medication, (7) infection control measures, (8), changes in patients' demands, engagement, and mental health, and (9) impacts on staff and team. Many services were closed intermittently or considerably reduced while telepsychiatric services were extensively expanded. Face-to-face services decreased, as did the work with therapeutic groups. Many inpatient units restructured their services to accommodate COVID-19 patients. While the digitalisation of services allowed for better access to services for some, restrictive measures hindered access for most. Staff experienced changes such as heightened impacts on their own mental health, burdens on patients and the pausing of professional training. Clearly, diverse findings of studies relate to different (national) contexts, type of service offered, but also to the time of the investigation, as studies noted several distinct phases of change during the pandemic. This review suggests directions for policy and service development, such as fostering community services and providing support services for particularly vulnerable populations.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.