The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with severe mental illness and on mental health service provision in South Asia (IMPASS)

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected lives and challenged healthcare provision and people with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are likely to be disproportionately affected. This project will look at the impact of the pandemic on people with severe mental illness and on mental health care provision in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The project will specifically look at how individuals with severe mental illness have received and responded to advice about preventing spread of COVID-19, their well-being, health risk behaviors, quality of life and access to healthcare as well as housing issues, food security, domestic violence, employment and income. Using this evidence, the researchers will then work to inform strategies to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on people with severe mental illness and healthcare services. "IMPASS creates a platform for generating evidence and influencing policy for providing better health care of people with severe mental illness and improving their wellbeing during the pandemic and beyond." Professor Rumana Huque, ARK Foundation, Bangladesh