UNCC study: Covid stresses are hitting low-income residents
New research shows Charlotte-area residents suffer from pandemic-related risk for depression, alcohol abuse, domestic violence
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Some 63% of respondents to a survey of low-income Charlotte-area residents reported experiencing domestic violence during the pandemic. That’s one of the alarming findings of a UNCC survey recently released. (Photo by Jude Beck/Unsplash)
by Cristina Bolling
Since the pandemic began, public health advocates have been warning about the toll Covid is taking on stress levels and mental health, especially among vulnerable populations.
Now, a study out of UNC Charlotte focused on low-income residents in Charlotte and surrounding counties puts some data behind the warning.
Researchers in July surveyed 156 adults with household incomes of $60,000 or less in Mecklenburg, Lincoln, Cabarrus, Gaston and Union counties about Covid exposure and stressors.
What they found is alarming — significant percentages of respondents reporting that they have been drinking more, experiencing domestic violence, have suffered job loss and were at risk of suicide.
“I was expecting (the results) to be elevated, but I am deeply, deeply troubled,” said Rob Cramer, an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at UNC Charlotte and the study’s lead author.
“If you think about the pandemic mixed with financial stress, mixed with the exposure to the virus and all the documented stressors like losing a job and financial problems, it makes sense in this population” to see such high rates of people in crisis, he said.
Last month, Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris said the county saw a “mild uptick” in the number of suicides between January and June. The Ledger in May wrote about mental health professionals’ concerns about the mental health and public health impacts of Covid.
The study by UNCC was conducted in partnership with local mental health non-profit Psychology for All with funding from the Cardinal Innovations Healthcare COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Among the findings:
83% of respondents had possible post-traumatic stress disorder
63% reported domestic violence in a relationship since the pandemic
52% were at probable risk for depression
51% indicated problematic drinking behaviors
46% lost a job or income due to the pandemic
46% had a job that requires possible Covid exposure
31% had elevated risk of suicide
29% reported increased relationship conflict since the pandemic
25% had lost health insurance
Cramer and his team included a list of recommended actions in the report, including more investment in mental health services, community-based mental health screenings, public health awareness campaigns and more services for couples and families, including domestic violence screenings.
A significant percentage of respondents said they’d be willing to do therapy, either in-person or virtual. (Some 43% said they’d be willing to do online individual teletherapy, while 39% said they’d do in-person individual therapy.) But some cited financial barriers to getting mental healthcare.
One of the study’s recommendations is exploring how the community can provide low or no-cost virtual individual or group therapy services.
Many therapists’ caseloads are so heavy right now that they’re not taking new clients or it can be harder to get appointments, Cramer said, which underscores a huge need for more services in the community.
“With the pandemic not going away, I think online group therapy of some sort, or virtual group therapy of some sort, is a worthwhile investment,” Cramer said.
Another goal of the study, Cramer said, is to get people talking about mental health. The study’s authors rolled out the results on social media with the hopes of getting people to pay attention — and to discuss the findings.
“Normalizing these conversations is just really important … normalizing talking about mental health and stress and therapy,” he said. “There’s still a lot of stigma around mental health.”
University studies usually take many months to complete. This one came together quickly out of necessity, Cramer said.
“It’s a pressing problem, and we wanted to get information out as close in time to the actual survey — to have real-time data,” he said.
“This kind of information needs to get in front of policy makers,” Cramer said. “Mental health is a symptom of what ails a society or a person or a community. The root causes here are domestic violence, lack of access to care, job loss, exposure to the pandemic, knowing people exposed to the pandemic.”
Cristina Bolling is managing editor of The Ledger: cristina@cltledger.com
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