Chung, RY-N;
Chung, GK-K;
Chan, S-M;
Chan, Y-H;
Wong, H;
Yeoh, EK;
Allen, J;
... Marmot, M; + view all
(2021)
Socioeconomic inequality in mental well-being associated with COVID-19 containment measures in a low-incidence Asian globalized city.
Scientific Reports
, 11
(1)
, Article 23161. 10.1038/s41598-021-02342-8.
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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic exposes and amplifies pre-existing inequalities even in places with relatively well-controlled outbreaks such as Hong Kong. This study aimed to explore whether the socioeconomically disadvantaged fare worse via various types of worry in terms of their mental health and well-being. Between September and October 2020, 1067 adults in Hong Kong were recruited via a cross-sectional population-wide telephone survey. The inter-relationship between deprivation, types of worry, mental health disorders, and subjective well-being was assessed using structural equation modelling. Results showed significant total effects of deprivation on worries about being infected (p = 0.002), economic activities and livelihood (p < 0.001), and personal savings (p < 0.001), as well as mental health disorders (p < 0.001) and subjective well-being (p < 0.001). Specifically, worry about economic activities and livelihood partly mediated the total effect of deprivation on mental health disorders (p = 0.004), whereas worry about personal savings and worry about economic activities and livelihood partially mediated the total effect of deprivation on subjective well-being (p = 0.007 and 0.002, respectively). Socioeconomic inequality, particularly in mental health and well-being, could be exacerbated via people’s economic concerns during the pandemic, which was largely induced by the COVID-19 containment measures rather than the pandemic per se given the relatively low COVID-19 incidence in Hong Kong.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Socioeconomic inequality in mental well-being associated with COVID-19 containment measures in a low-incidence Asian globalized city |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-021-02342-8 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02342-8 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10140055 |
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