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Open research questions in COVID-19 and Mental Health

265 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 5,617 COVID-19 and Mental Health papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • Results suggest that implementation of the Compass Course was feasible and acceptable, and further studies related to purpose renewal for persons after COVID-19 are warranted.

    Purpose in Life Renewal for COVID-19 Survivors: A Feasibility Study · 2026 · DOI

  • In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between academic motivation and mental health remains unclear among Canadian undergraduate students.

    Academic Motivation of Canadian Undergraduate Students: Mental Health, Sociodemographic and COVID Predictors · 2026 · DOI

  • While inverse probability weighting corrected for COPE survey nonresponse within the All of Us source population, results may not be generalizable to other populations or exposure periods.

    Joint Effects of Early Pandemic Containment Policies on Anxiety in the United States · 2026 · DOI

  • For future research, multi-wave longitudinal studies and experimental/quasi- experimental designs (e.g., coping skills training or professional support program interventions) are recommended to test the causal relationships among threat perception, job satisfaction. Comparative studies conducted in different countries may help clarify the effects of cultural values, organizational structures, and differences in crisis management on threat perception, stress, coping, and job satisfaction. job stress, coping, and levels, As recommendations for healthcare institutions and policymakers, increasing improving shift scheduling, strengthening equipment staffing provision, and reorganizing workflow may reduce job stress and enhance job satisfaction. During pandemics and other crisis periods, strengthening managerial transparency, effective communication, recognition and reward systems, counseling services, team supervision, and peer-support programs is recommended. Structured training and intervention programs for healthcare workers may strengthen cognitive reframing, problem-solving, emotional regulation, and self-care skills. Regular training in areas such as infection control, crisis management, ethical decision-making, and communication skills may both make threat perceptions more manageable and serve as a buffer against stress by increasing self-efficacy.

    Perceived COVID-19 threat and job satisfaction among healthcare workers: the indirect role of job stress and the moderating role of coping strategies · 2026 · DOI

  • ARTICLE IN PRESS ARTICLE IN PRESS ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT This study is subject to several methodological limitations that should be considered when interpreting the findings. First, the cross-sectional nature of the data does not permit causal inferences, and the identified pathways should be interpreted as contemporaneous statistical associations rather than evidence of temporal or causal relationships among perceived threat, job stress, and job satisfaction. Second, the sample was limited to healthcare professionals working in Turkey and was obtained through convenience sampling. Therefore, the generalizability of the findings may be restricted by cultural, organizational, and healthcare-system characteristics that differ across countries and occupational settings. Another limitation concerns the psychometric properties of the Job Stress Scale. The scale initially demonstrated low internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.46), and although the removal of two items increased the reliability coefficient to 0.61, this value remains relatively modest. In addition, the revised scale explained only 28.37% of the total variance. Consequently, measurement error cannot be ruled out, and relationships involving the job stress variable should be interpreted with appropriate caution. In moderation and path analyses, lower reliability may attenuate effect sizes or obscure underlying associations. Furthermore, all variables were assessed using self-report questionnaires administered at a single time point. As a result, common method variance, response bias, and social desirability effects may have influenced the observed relationships. Although established and validated instruments were employed, common method bias cannot be completely excluded. Finally, perceptions of threat, job demands, and coping responses may vary substantially across different stages of a public health crisis. Because the data were collected during a specific phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the findings may not fully reflect experiences during earlier outbreak periods or post-pandemic conditions. Future longitudinal and multi-wave studies are needed to examine how these relationships evolve over time and across different healthcare contexts.

    Perceived COVID-19 threat and job satisfaction among healthcare workers: the indirect role of job stress and the moderating role of coping strategies · 2026 · DOI

  • This study has some limitations. Firstly, the detected menstrual problems were based on self-report. Secondly, study data were collected online. Thirdly, the majority of the study sample was composed of nurses. Finally, the findings of this study can be generalized only to female health professionals working in Turkey.

    Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Female Health Professionals’ Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, Dysmenorrhea, and Premenstrual Syndrome Experiences · 2026 · DOI

  • Investigating DV presents significant challenges within the context of developing countries. Social, cultural, and reli- gious aspects often frame DV as a familial matter, creating challenges for data collection. Privacy concerns not only limit accessibility to accurate data but also hinder the report- ing of DV. Moreover, the lack of community support struc- tures, both locally and nationally, also makes it challenging to investigate the issue. Underreporting is a persistent prob- lem which results in limited availability of secondary data, particularly in areas where social support and institutional support are minimal. Gender roles and responsibilities also pose a limitation, as these affect the accessibility of respond- ents, particularly females, to participate in DV research. These challenges contribute to a constrained research envi- ronment, making it quite difficult to obtain detailed and rep- resentative findings. The limited sample size and purposive sampling design present important methodological limita- tions that may influence the representativeness of the results. Given the sensitive nature of DV, the possibility of under- reporting cannot be ruled out. While several steps, such as interviewer training, maintaining participant anonymity, and careful communication, were taken to minimize these biases. Future studies should adopt larger and more diverse sampling frames to strengthen external validity. This study does not attempt causal modeling, and the cor- relations reported should be viewed strictly as indicators of association. The decision not to employ regression analysis was based on both the modest sample size and diagnostic concerns such as non-normality and multicollinearity among independent variables. Under such conditions, regression outputs could be misleading, and thus, a descriptive cor- relational framework was deemed methodologically more appropriate.

    An Investigation into the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Domestic Violence Incidents in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan · 2026 · DOI

  • The limited knowledge amongst healthcare practitioners in Nigeria regarding Long COVID can be further attributed to the inad- equate scientific evidence available to influence the awareness of prac- titioners regarding the condition. With the identified gaps in the understanding of health practitioners in Nigeria on the treatment and symptomatic patterns of the condition, training professionals on Long COVID has become important.

    Knowledge, awareness, and perception of healthcare professionals towards Long COVID in Nigeria · 2026 · DOI

  • Although many studies have examined nurses’ mental health and both professional quality of life (ProQOL) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during the pandemic, multicentre analyses that simultaneously model physical and psychological quality of life (QoL) domains, with comprehensive adjustment for individual- and organisational-level variables, remain scarce.

    Factors associated with nurses’ physical and psychological quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicentre analytical cross-sectional study · 2026 · DOI

  • The cross-sectional nature of the study limits the ability to infer causal relationships among variables. While mediation models can suggest possible pathways, longitudinal data would be needed to establish temporal precedence. All variables were assessed via self-report questionnaires, which may be subject to social desirability bias, memory errors, or response tendencies, especially on sensitive topics such as aggression and deviance. Although a two-stage random cluster sampling procedure was used at the school level, participants were recruited only from selected cities in central Italy. This may restrict the generalisability of the findings to other regions or cultural contexts. Moreover, although both the COVID-19 stress question- naire and the deviance checklist are validated and widely used, they present some limitations: the former is relatively brief and cannot capture the full complexity of pandemic-related stress, while the latter aggregates behaviours of different severity. These instruments were nevertheless adopted as no alternative validated measures were available in Italian to specifically address the constructs of interest in this study. Data collection was carried out in 2024–2025 due to delays in project approval and funding. In the Italian context, this period remains highly relevant, as youth deviance increased markedly after the post-pandemic reopen- ing and remained at elevated levels during these years. Furthermore, the regression model included only COVID Stress subdimensions as predictors of aggression and did not control for other possible confounders (e.g., demographic or psychosocial factors), which should be considered in future research. Finally, external validity is limited, as the findings are specific to an Italian sample studied in a post-acute pandemic context, and caution is needed when generalising to other countries, cultures, or time periods.

    COVID-19 stress, aggressiveness, and deviant behaviour: a mediation analysis of youth in the pandemic era · 2026 · DOI

  • Limitations to this study are largely related to the small sample size (N = 10 participants). While dyads were cap- tured across Canada, all resided in moderate-sized towns to large cities, excluding the perspectives of families who lived rurally, and participants were not demographically diverse (no households had infants, toddlers, or pre-school age children; all parents were married and heterosexual; no parents < 30 years old; no participants who self-identified as living with a disability). Our FLW population was limited to those in health care or education. Future research should address knowledge gaps surrounding FLW who were first responders, such as individuals who worked in police or firefighting services or those who worked in the retail or ser- vice industry. Additionally, none of our FLWs were novices in their fields, leaving room to ponder how less experienced FLWs and their families may have coped with the pan- demic. All youth interviewed identified as boys, leaving the wellbeing of girls or non-binary youth’s perspectives uncap- tured by our study. As alluded to by these limitations, our study did not reach saturation, and there are key perspec- tives of FLW and their families living in Canada throughout COVID-19 that remain to be captured. Finally, recall bias is important to consider as participants were asked to reflect and recount experiences that took place over two or more years.

    The Stressors, Complexities, and Coping Strategies Experienced by Frontline Worker’s Families During COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada · 2026 · DOI

  • As with all qualitative research, several limitations should be considered when interpreting the findings. Qualitative content analysis involves the interpretation of subjective experiences, which may introduce researcher bias (Berger, 2015). To mitigate this risk, reflexive practices were employed throughout the research process. Another limitation relates to the lack of standardized methodological procedures in qualitative content analysis, which may lead to variations in data interpretation (Kyngäs et al., 2020). Despite these limitations, the study provides valuable insights into nurses’ experiences and perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental health and well-being, and contributes to the growing body of research on healthcare workforce resilience.

    Enduring the Chaos of COVID-19 · 2026 · DOI

  • This study draws on helpline data reflecting spontaneous help-seeking during a public health emergency; however, helpline users are self-selected, and older adults without telecommunication access remain underrepresented; therefore, the findings should be interpreted as contextual insights into help-seeking experiences rather than statistically generalizable estimates [23,24]. Reliance on telephonic summaries constrains assessment of cognitive and affective states; distress is narrated in moments of need rather than clinically assessed. Severe gender imbalance (89% male) limits robust gender-stratified analysis; findings may not generalize to older female adults. Themes are shaped by helpline interactional context and the researcher's interpretive positioning; however, this positioning is transparent and acknowledged [22]. Data capture a 13-month pandemic window and may not reflect long-term psychosocial patterns.

    Psychosocial Factors in Help-Seeking Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis of Calls to India’s National Psychosocial Support and Mental Health Services Helpline · 2026 · DOI

  • During case studies conducted in 12 schools in 2021 and 2022, interviews with principals and school board directors revealed an increase in student difficulties whose dimensions vary widely.

    Well-Being Since the Pandemic: Still an Issue for Students · 2025 · DOI

  • Our findings are limited by high attrition rates, small sample size, and data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, our methods offer a promising transferable approach to evaluate school-based antiracist interventions by examining patterns and predictors of intervention engagement, as well as daily fluctuations in student experience throughout the intervention period.

    A Novel Approach for Evaluating a Schoolwide Antiracist Curriculum Intervention · 2024 · DOI

  • This could be explained by the fact that decision-making mechanisms are likely operating under the influence of different variables in unstructured natural SSI cases, since rational decisions are insufficient for producing solutions during these complex processes.

    Transformative Shifts in Informal Reasoning of Pre-Service Teachers in a Real-Time Health Issue · 2024 · DOI

  • Infectious disease (ID) physicians were among the most affected, yet comparisons are scarce on training implementation and the levels of residents’ satisfaction between the pre-pandemic and the pandemic era.

    COVID-19 Impact on Infectious Disease Training and Residents’ Satisfaction in the Republic of Croatia · 2024 · DOI

  • Background: Although many negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are reported for adults, little is known about its impacts on children, especially in terms of the relative roles of joint and nuclear families.

    Perceived Life Outcomes of Indian Children During the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Protective Roles of Joint and Nuclear Families · 2024 · DOI

  • Few studies have addressed the influence of mass stressors in the context of couple relationships; therefore, understanding how unique constraints and stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced mental health distress and, in turn, loss in couple relationships is valuable.

    Family of Origin Stress, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, and Resource Loss for Couples During COVID-19: A Longitudinal Analysis · 2024 · DOI

  • Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BF) is an evidence-based intervention with potential to reduce psychological burden on frontline HCWs; however, no studies have examined its use among this population since the pandemic began.

    Addressing Mental Health Symptoms Among COVID‐19 Healthcare Workers: A Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Pilot Study · 2024 · DOI

  • For this purpose, we analyzed lay perspectives via an open question in a representative survey ( N = 446) and qualitatively categorized the reported prosocial behaviors inductively with content analysis.

    Exploring prosocial behaviors in times of a pandemic: Individuals’ lay perspective versus scientific measurements · 2024 · DOI

  • Given the significant labor participation in seafaring of Filipinos, examining the MHPSS provided to them during a crisis is necessary because these services remain unexplored.

    Filipino seafarers’ experiences and perceptions of psychosocial interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic · 2024 · DOI

  • BACKGROUND: Although several studies have reported an increase in psychological problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of stressful life events on Spanish children and adolescents using a person-oriented statistical approach and the relationships between the profiles and emotional and behavioral symptoms have not yet been examined.

    Stressful Life Events in Children Aged 3 to 15 Years During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Latent Class Analysis · 2023 · DOI

  • Published reports on the impact of the pandemic on health sciences students are vast (Carpi & Vestri, 2023; Pitanupong, Sathaporn, Ittasakul, & Karawekpanyawong, 2023), a good part of them coming from developed countries; however, in Latin American countries, there is limited evidence.

    Towards the design of holistic mental health programs in the student population · 2023 · DOI

  • A significant decrease in the wellbeing of university students was observed across studies during the early stages of the pandemic compared to prepandemic times; however, mixed findings were found in later phases of the pandemic, with some studies presenting an improvement in wellbeing, others no change, and two studies finding impairments.

    Wellbeing among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review of longitudinal studies · 2023 · DOI

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265 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 5,617 COVID-19 and Mental Health papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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