IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING AMONG CHILDREN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus pandemic represents a huge threat and phenomenal risks on mental and emotional wellness among children. This systematic review expects to integrate academic research literature that provides details regarding the impact of COVID-19 on emotional wellbeing and mental status among children. Methods: A systematic research engine was escorted on PubMed, Proquest, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar with keywords: Children, COVID-19, Mental Status, Psychological Status from December 2019 to 18 November 2020 following the PRISMA guidelines. Articles were chosen dependent on the predetermined eligibility criteria. The included articles to review used the Quality Assessment Tool Adapted from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Results: A total of 17,059 records were identified using the keywords. After removal of duplicates and initial screening, seven articles met the inclusion criteria of COVID-19 influence on mental and emotional wellbeing among children. The research design was a longitudinal and cross-sectional online survey with the children age range was 3 – 18 years old. Conclusions: COVID-19 Pandemic has a significant influence on mental and emotional wellbeing among children. Some children experienced depressive indication, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, touchy and easy to get irritated. Limitations: Online survey generalized the results, younger children might need assistance from parents during filling up the questionnaire, small sampling size.