Cohorts as Platforms for Mental Health research (CaP:MH)'

As stated by the World Health Organisation, understanding the effects of the pandemic on mental health is a global research priority. Using pre-pandemic baseline information and newly-collection information longitudinal studies can record changes to mental health over the course of the pandemic to contribute to the COVID-19 data-science programme coordinated by HDRUK. The Wellcome Trust COVID-19 secretariat for Longitudinal Population Studies (LPS) has developed a standardised questionnaire enabling ALSPAC and other LPS to measure COVID-19 symptoms/outcomes and associated outcomes linked to social distancing and the economic impacts of the pandemic. This has been adopted by >10 cohorts resulting in a multi-cohort resource with critical mass. With HDRUK we are linking these to NHS records in order to inform priority COVID-19 research. In immediate response to COVID-19, we developed and deployed a questionnaire to the original parents enrolled 1990-92 (G0: mean age ~58 years) and their offspring (G1: mean age 28 years): it received ~5000 responses in 9 days, and >7500 to date. We now have an exceptional opportunity to expand with follow-up questionnaires capturing longitudinal information on COVID-19 status and to assess the societal impact of the pandemic with a repeat of mental health questions. We request approval to reallocate £60,000 within our MH Pathfinder award. £20,000 for a third sweep of our COVID-19 questionnaire towards the end of 2020: the first questionnaire sweep was supported by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute/ALSPAC and we are seeking support for the second sweep through an application to UKRI (under review). £40,000 to support COVID-19 MH analysis as a new MH Pathfinder exemplar project using linked NHS records and spanning multiple cohorts, including our Pathfinder partners at Born in Bradford (administered using the structure developed to support existing Pathfinder exemplars). We are able to reallocate these funds as TPP (a GP Software System Supplier), with whom we are intending to partner in order to develop a GP data extraction mechanism, are now willing to undertake this work pro bono.