Mental Health during the COVID-19 Crisis in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Jiyao Chen, Nusrat Farah, Rebecca Kechen Dong, Richard Z. Chen, Wen Xu, Jin Yin, Bryan Z. Chen, Andrew Yilong Delios, Saylor Miller, Xue Wan, Wenping Ye and Stephen X. Zhang
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Jiyao Chen: College of Business, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
Nusrat Farah: College of Business and Analytics, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
Rebecca Kechen Dong: Business School, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
Richard Z. Chen: Crescent Valley High School, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
Wen Xu: International Business and Management Department, Nottingham University Business School China, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China
Jin Yin: School of Humanities, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Bryan Z. Chen: Crescent Valley High School, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
Andrew Yilong Delios: Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
Saylor Miller: College of Business, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
Xue Wan: School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Wenping Ye: Department of Business Administration, School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
Stephen X. Zhang: Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-19

Abstract: We aim to provide a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence rates of mental health symptoms among major African populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We include articles from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and medRxiv between 1 February 2020 and 6 February 2021, and pooled data using random-effects meta-analyses. We identify 28 studies and 32 independent samples from 12 African countries with a total of 15,071 participants. The pooled prevalence of anxiety was 37% in 27 studies, of depression was 45% in 24 studies, and of insomnia was 28% in 9 studies. The pooled prevalence rates of anxiety, depression, and insomnia in North Africa (44%, 55%, and 31%, respectively) are higher than those in Sub-Saharan Africa (31%, 30%, and 24%, respectively). We find (a) a scarcity of studies in several African countries with a high number of COVID-19 cases; (b) high heterogeneity among the studies; (c) the extent and pattern of prevalence of mental health symptoms in Africa is high and differs from elsewhere—more African adults suffer from depression rather than anxiety and insomnia during COVID 19 compared to adult populations in other countries/regions. Hence, our findings carry crucial implications and impact future research to enable evidence-based medicine in Africa.

Keywords: mental health; prevalence; pandemic; general population; healthcare workers; anxiety; depression; Insomnia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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