COVID-19 could widen mental health inequalities for a generation, warns charity

The COVID-19 pandemic could entrench and exacerbate inequalities in mental health for a generation unless action is taken, the Centre for Mental Health has warned.

In a report published on Thursday, the charity warned that the lockdown would put greater pressure on groups whose mental health was already poor beforeCOVID-19 hit, such as women and children experiencing violence and abuse, and ethnic minority communities.

The pandemic will leave an “unequal legacy of complicated bereavement, trauma, and economic repercussions which will push more people towards financial insecurity and poverty, significant risk factors for poor mental health,” the report said.

“Unequal experiences of grief, loss, trauma, injustice, and abandonment all add to the psychological damage caused by COVID-19.”

The report, backed by 12 mental health charities and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said that the government must prioritise race equality and support “trauma informed” approaches for all people whose lives had been affected by COVID-19.

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Source: BMJ, 19 June 2020