Study highlights mental health burden of shielding from Covid-19

Health anxiety among clinically vulnerable groups who shielded at home has risen since the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, reveals a new study from researchers at the University of Bath.

Despite developments in viral treatments and the roll-out of the vaccination programme, health anxieties among vulnerable groups grew in line with the length of time they spent indoors.

Conversely, anxiety among the wider population decreased over time, suggesting that while health anxieties fell for the general population, they rose considerably for shielders.  

The study is the first to use validated measures of mental health to understand the effects of the pandemic on those who have been shielding or continue to shield.

From August 2021, government shielding guidance ended, but many individuals chose to continue shielding and take additional precautions.

At the end of 2021, 22% of clinically vulnerable people continued to shield, while 68% were taking extra precautions.

 Clinical psychologist Dr Jo Daniels from the University of Bath’s Department of Psychology explained: ‘As Covid-19 slips from the front pages, those who have been shielding – or continue to shield – have become a forgotten group. But the pandemic has had profound effects on their lives with a heavy mental health burden.

‘Our latest findings reveal that whereas health-related anxieties among the general population have fallen over the past two years, which is of course likely to be related to the vaccine roll-out, it appears that anxieties among the shielding populations have grown. As final guidelines are reviewed, and potentially lifted, we must provide greater support to those in most need.

‘Policymakers need to be aware of the psychological impact of shielding over the course of the pandemic as they make decisions about the support and future plans in relation to the clinically vulnerable. Many who are continuing to follow guidance for the immunosuppressed will be anxious if forced to return to work, and to society in general.’

Image by Klaus Hausmann