How did the pandemic affect individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions? 

Our brand-new report gives an overview of the findings for an online survey carried out between September and December 2020 by GAMIAN-Europe; during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey aimed to find out the initial impact of the pandemic on people with pre-existing mental health conditions; asking about changes to their mental and physical health, whether they had contracted the virus, any difficulties with accessing healthcare and who gave them the most support. The online survey was translated into 13 languages and sent to individuals via GAMIAN-Europe member organisations.[1]

This survey provides an important contribution to many of the existing and ongoing surveys to specifically see how the pandemic has affected people with mental health problems from a pan-European perspective. In understanding the consequences of the pandemic on this group we can ensure people receive the right support at the right time for their mental and physical health, in a way that is appropriate for them in meeting their needs.

In this report we present the findings of 551 people who responded to our survey of just over 30 questions.[2]

[1] The survey was translated into the following languages: Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish.

[2] All percentages are based on the number of people responding to each survey question, which varied as not everyone responded to each question.