VIVA UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR PROJECT

ANGLIA RUSKINN UNIVERTY LONDON STUDENT ID:2120483

What is the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on mental health in the UK, and how are health and social care services responding to this?

Aim: This study aims to examine the changes in the UK after Brexit and COVID-19, considering the impact on living standards, Health services provision and
Mental Health of the population.
Objectives: Firstly, to give an overview of the UK financial stress before and after the crisis, considering how it has evolved.
Secondly, to analyse government interventions on the risk of poor mental health and services responded to the crises and adjustments.

Databases and search engines: Resources from the Web of Sciences, Wiley online library, government website, MEDLINE, National Health Services
(NHS)survey, and charity websites.

Search Terms: Cost of living crisis, mental health care, Mental health services, coronavirus, health and social care provision, Brexit, COVID-19, survey,
government adjustments, Mental health, impact on social care services experiences, UK living cost crises, UK crises quantitative survey.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: Data extraction of inclusion criteria of peer-reviewed journals and recognised studies of the UK population in a coherent and
objective conduct.
The exclusion criteria comprise concerns among vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, young adults, and disabled people associated with living
crises, to mental health services and mental health service providers.

A brief synopsis of each literature:

1 Changes in household income during COVID-19: a longitudinal analysis.

Aim: Determining the average household income of the UK residents in COVID-19.
Objectives: Determining the factors impacting household income during the pandemic and studying the differences between various socio-economic groups.
Methodology: Surveys, quantitative
Who and where: Residents of the UK are the heads of the families.
Key findings: The economic crisis followed by the pandemic undermined the spending capacity of the people in the UK.
Rationale: Determining the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the earnings of UK residents.

2 Integrating youth mental health into cash transfer programmes in response to the COVID-19 crisis in low-income and middle-income countries.
Aim: Studying the impact of cash transfer programs on minorities with mental health issues post-COVID-19
Objectives: Supporting this specific population through cash transfer programs by addressing urgent food security and survival needs and expanding their
focus to address longer-term mental health impacts of pandemics and economic crises.
Methodology: qualitative, argumentative methodology
Who and where: People from low- and middle-income families in the UK (especially young people aged 15-24).
Key findings: the pandemic has resulted in unparalleled challenges that social care service providers have dealt with.
Rationale: Identifying the opportunities to support low and middle-income families with mental health issues.

3 The mental health benefits of community helping during crisis: Coordinated helping, community identification and sense of unity during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Aim: People experienced mental health complications during the pandemic.
Objectives: Study the relationship between the pandemic and mental health and examine how people felt mentally strained due to the financial crisis.
Methodology: quantitative survey research
Who and where: In the UK, there are two hundred and five adults (60 males and 145 females).
Key findings: According to Mental Health Foundation, UK, one in four people in the country will suffer from mental health disorders each year and anxiety
and depression being the most prevalent. Most of this is due to the cost-of-living crisis. Mental health issues have worsened during the cost-of-living crisis as
a result of financial stress.
Rationale: Identifying effective supportive programs to promote mental wellbeing in individuals affected by pandemic.

4 Working parents, financial insecurity, and childcare: Mental health in the time of COVID-19 in the UK.
Aim: Exploring the correlation between high cost of living and mental state.
Objectives: Studying the impact of high cost of living on the residents and studying the factors causing mental health complexities.
Methodology: Quantitative longitudinal survey analysis
Who and where: 6795 (43%) working parents in the estimation sample, of which 57% were female in the UK.
Key findings: Due to the lockdown policies of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors mentioned in the above report by The Resolution Foundation,
poverty increased dramatically by 22% within four months between September 2020 and January 2021 to affect several households.
Rationale: Understanding the aftereffects of pandemic were severe for the working-class parents.

5 Assessing concerns for the economic consequence of the COVID-19 response and mental health problems associated with economic
vulnerability and negative economic shock in Italy, Spain, and UK.
Aim: Studying the transformation in the lives of people after the pandemic.
Objectives: Studying the pandemic's impact on residents' mental health and tracking transition in the socio-psychological aspects of the pandemic.
Methodology: Quantitative multi-country survey analysis
Who and where: Population from three countries aged between 17 and 75 (Italy, Spain and the UK).
Key findings: Progressive increase in the cost of living is especially felt among low and middle-income households as it poses continuous financial stress,
making their security even less stable. Such amplified levels of economic uncertainty also spill over the nation's macroeconomic conditions.
Rationale: Understanding the emotional implications of the pandemic on people of different age groups.

6 Poverty, inequality and COVID-19: the forgotten vulnerable. Public Health, 183, 110–111.
Aim: Studying the relationship between economic disparity and pandemic.
Objectives: Determining the influence of COVID-19 on social inequality.
and studying the social and economic division between the low and upper-income groups.
Methodology: Critical literature review
Who and where: people of low socioeconomic status (SES) in the UK.
Key findings: The IFS expressed that with prices climbing at a pace of 5.4% and salaries growing by only 3.8%, many individuals and families cannot afford
their basic needs.
Rationale: Identifying changes in the income trends in the UK.

7 Mental health, quality of life, wellbeing, loneliness and use of social media in a time of social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-
country comparative study.
Aim: Determining the association between COVID-19 pandemic and living standards.
Objectives: Study the adverse implications of the pandemic on economically deprived groups and explore the struggles of the economically deprived.
Methodology: Quantitative approach, employing a comparative cross-country survey.
Who and where: People from Norway, UK, USA and Australia
Key findings: High level of stress, 50-74% noted among participants.
VIVA UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR PROJECT
ANGLIA RUSKINN UNIVERTY LONDON STUDENT ID:2120483

Rationale: Comparing how emotional issues vary among people from different countries.

References

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Bauer, A., Garman, E., McDaid, D., Avendano, M., Hessel, P., Díaz, Y., Araya, R., Lund, C., Malvasi, P., & Matijasevich, A. (2021). Integrating youth mental
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Bell, J., & Waters, S. (2018). Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Bowe, M., Wakefield, J. R. H., Kellezi, B., Stevenson, C., McNamara, N., Jones, B. A., Sumich, A., & Heym, N. (2022). The mental health benefits of
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Cheng, Z., Mendolia, S., Paloyo, A. R., Savage, D. A., & Tani, M. (2021). Working parents, financial insecurity, and childcare: Mental health during COVID-19
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VIVA UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR PROJECT
ANGLIA RUSKINN UNIVERTY LONDON STUDENT ID:2120483

Ryan, F., Coughlan, M., & Cronin, P. (2007). Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 2: Qualitative research. British Journal of Nursing, 16(12), 738-
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