Our aim to develop harmonized costing and outcome assessment methods and tools across multiple sectors and multiple countries could not be more relevant in the current COVID-19 crisis. The socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak affects the labour market, the education sector, the criminal justice sector and other sectors that are of economic relevance (e.g. transport). It is hard to comprehend or estimate in its entirety and is not yet known. PECUNIA consortium partners are actively engaged in diverse research and field activities related to estimating and fighting the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. Further information on a few selected examples of these initiatives can be found below.
Medizinische Universität Wien (MUW)
An ongoing research project conducted at the Department of Health Economics (DHE) aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the related public health measures on people’s mental health and wellbeing in Austria. The longitudinal design of the study will allow for determining whether having close exposure to COVID-19 (e.g. experiencing the condition or having close family members test positive) is predictive of higher levels of symptoms of common mental disorder and lower levels of wellbeing compared to not having close exposure over time. Link: https://healtheconomics.meduniwien.ac.at/science-research/projects/exploring-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-mental-health-and-wellbeing-in-austria-an-exploratory-study/
The DHE is also involved in another ongoing online crowdsourcing initiative regarding the impact of COVID-19 in Austria. Link: https://healtheconomics.meduniwien.ac.at/news/single-view/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=4740&cHash=b3312e516554854741092327ae277927
Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)
The UKE team participates in a COVID-19-related survey conducted by the Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufkklärung (BZgA).
Maastricht University (UM)
Set up of a central COVID-19 research committee within the Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+) with the goal of streamlining COVID-19 research in the MUMC+, addressing the knowledge and the burden on the patient, care professional and the environment, including the patient and data protection. The Department of the Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Technology Assessment (KEMTA) at MUMC+ has been working on providing daily evidence updates. These updates summarize the available information providing reliable data sources, guidelines and literature about the COVID-19, rapid reviews carried out by KEMTA, and short summaries and links to rapid reviews carried out by other groups. Finally, it contains short-term forecasts of the number of positively tested patients, patients who have been (have been) and who have been admitted to the ICU. It helps policymakers and caregivers to keep up to date with the latest knowledge about COVID-19.
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (EUR)
A cross-sectional study aiming to assess the impact of working from home on productivity of paid and unpaid work during the COVID-19 outbreak. Included participants are adults who had paid work before the outbreak and now work from home at least four hours per week. Additionally, the study will explore the (mental) quality of life and well-being of participants and the relation to changes in the work situation during the COVID-19 crisis.
Servicio Canario de la Salud (SESCS)
Ongoing research activities:
Asociación Científica Psicost (Psicost)
Luis Salvador-Carulla leads on the webinar series “The Global Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health”. Experts from around the world share their lived experience of the impact of COVID-19 on mental health services and community wellbeing. https://rsph.anu.edu.au/news-events/events/global-impact-covid-19-mental-health-webinar-series
University of Bristol (UnivBris)
Examining the impact of COVID-19 infection specifically and the lockdown more generally on household mental health and finances.