Hung, Wai Tung;
(2023)
COVID-19's Impact on Physical Activity and Mental Health: A Mixed-methods Longitudinal Study.
Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Background. The global COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted people’s physical and mental health, but qualitative studies are scarce. / Aims. To investigate how and why physical activity (PA), loneliness, depression and anxiety are related during the pandemic to inform the feasibility of ‘socially prescribing’ community-based activity as a pandemic recovery solution. / Method. Prospective mixed method study using data from the Global COVID-19 Study wave 1 (April 17 – July 17, 2020, N = 1,037) to conduct follow-up one-on-one semi-structured interviews at wave 4 (March 18 – August 1, 2022). Twenty-one UK adults self-identified as low or high-PA at wave 1 were recruited using purposive sampling. Data were thematically analysed. / Results. Multivariant analyses showed more depressive symptoms and higher levels of loneliness predicted low-PA levels compared to moderate/high-PA levels. Increased depressive symptoms were associated with higher odds of being in low-PA compared to the high-PA group. Participants from the low-PA group described the threats of contracting COVID-19 contributed to reduced PA. Both high/low-PA groups spoke about the impacts of COVID-19 policies – including lack of in-person socialising, and heightened awareness of the mind-body connection. While social prescribing was commonly endorsed by the participants to reduce loneliness and provide purposeful activities, all participants spoke about the practical and emotional challenges affecting engagement. / Conclusions. While keeping an active lifestyle is important for mental wellbeing during the pandemic and social prescribing seems to be a feasible COVID-19 recovery solution, healthcare professionals and link workers play an important role in promoting engagement.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Clin.Psy |
| Title: | COVID-19's Impact on Physical Activity and Mental Health: A Mixed-methods Longitudinal Study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2023. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| 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 Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10177699 |
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