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Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Mental Health Status Among Children in Home Confinement During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak in Hubei Province, China

Educational Objective
To understand how home confinement affected the mental health of children in Hubei Province, China

1 Credit CME

JAMA Pediatrics

Published Online: April 24, 2020

Research Letter

Article Information and Disclosures

Xinyan Xie, BA¹;

Kaiheng Zhu, BA¹;

Jiajia Zhang, PhD, MS²;

Ranran Song, PhD, MS¹

Author Affiliations

¹Department of Maternal and Child Health and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
²Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia

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As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic progressed in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, the Chinese government ordered a nationwide school closure. More than 180 million students in China were restricted to their homes (http://www.chinanews.com/sh/2020/02-17/9094648.shtml). The COVID-19 infection has become a global pandemic. As of April 9, 2020, the infection has caused 188 countrywide closures around the world and has affected 1 576 021 818 learners (https://zh.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavirus-school-closures). The caution about protecting the mental health of children in home confinement is warranted. This study investigated depressive and anxiety symptoms among students in Hubei province, China, which can help optimize interventions on the mental health of children for stakeholders in all countries affected by COVID-19.

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Article Information

Acceptance Date: April 14, 2020.

Corresponding Author: Ranran Song, PhD, MS, Department of Maternal and Child Health and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Rd, Wuhan 430030, Hubei, China (songranran@hust.edu.cn).

Published Online: April 24, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.1619

Author Contributions: Dr Song had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Mss Xie and Xue contributed equally.

Concept and design: Xie, Xue, Song.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: All authors.

Drafting of the manuscript: Xie, Xue, Zhou, Zhu, Liu.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Zhang, Song.

Statistical analysis: Xie, Xue, Zhou, Zhu, Liu, Zhang.

Obtained funding: Song.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Song.

Supervision: Song.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Funding/Support: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 81673194 [Dr Song]).

Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funder had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Additional Contributions: We thank the families and the children that participated in this study. They were in the first epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, but they were willing to complete the investigation.

References

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Xu DD , Rao WW , Cao XL , et al. Prevalence of depressive symptoms in primary school students in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2020;268:20-27. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.02.034 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

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AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.