The outbreak of COVID-19 and corresponding Government public health measures enacted to slow the spread of the virus are likely to have unintended negative consequences for the mental health of the nation. The empirical literature shows that quarantine measures can lead to long-lasting mental health problems. Risk factors for mental health problems include the duration of quarantine, inadequate communication, financial loss, and infection fears (Brooks et al., 2020). Aligned to the Government’s National Action Plan’s aim to ‘minimise the health, wellbeing and social impact’ of COVID-19, this study identifies measures that can be quickly and easily implemented to safeguard the mental health of the public during the current and future emergencies. Specifically, this project will identify (1) what proportion of the population are experiencing mental health problems during the pandemic; (2) risk factors associated with mental health problems in the population; (3) the effectiveness of the ‘Challenging Times’ online module developed by collaborators SilverCloud Health for the COVID-19 crisis and the HSE’s ‘Mind your mental health’ recommendations; (4) what proportion of the public engaged in behaviours intended to protect their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and why; (5) change in mental health problems over the course of three weeks, and if loneliness predicted changes in mental health; and (6) how together, these findings can be translated into policy guidelines to aid the Government’s current health emergency responses and improve their preparedness for future health emergencies. This project brings together leading researchers in mental health, behavioural economics, and global health from multiple Irish universities, entrepreneurs specializing in the development of novel technologies to improve mental health, and health practitioners from the HSE to offer the Irish Government practical measures that can be implemented rapidly to respond to the mental health needs of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
