Aim

The aim of this project is to explore an innovative way to provide reliable large-scale evidence about mental health (including alcohol/substance abuse and violence) during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with the pandemic and the containment measures put in place worldwide.

Our objective is to answer the following questions:

1.

What is the prevalence of mental health issues in the general population and subpopulations worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic?

2.

Do the prevalences increase with the extent and intensity of the pandemic and the measures to contain the pandemic?

3.

Which characteristics (e.g. sex, age, comorbidities) modify these prevalences?

While answering the questions above, we seek to develop a transparent, generic evidence-synthesis platform that can be used to explore epidemiological associations during this, and future crisis situations.