Strategic assessment of mental health and suicide amid COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

Int J Health Plann Manage. 2021 May;36(3):980-985. doi: 10.1002/hpm.3121. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has affected the mental health of our society in Bangladesh as a thorough assessment of mental health is salient during this pandemic crisis. The study seeks to ensure that their unheard voices are reached to both national and international academic discourse, which has so far been uninhabited. It adopted qualitative interpretative methods of social research through content analysis. The study found that the pandemic did not affect all groups of society uniformly, rather the intensity of its impact varied depending on factors such as economic status and family institutions. The lower socioeconomic class is the worst affected as the pandemic made them unemployed, leading them to an uncertain future. Despite such variations, the general population has experienced a subsequent increase in workload, and challenges in using routine health facilities that increased behavioural changes, higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression and suicides.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; depression; mental health; suicide.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Bangladesh
  • COVID-19 / psychology*
  • Child
  • Female
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Health* / statistics & numerical data
  • Pandemics
  • Qualitative Research
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Social Isolation / psychology
  • Suicide Prevention*