Study: Indigenous people and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
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Released: 2020-06-23
A new study using a recent Statistics Canada crowdsourcing data collection initiative provides insights on some of the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Indigenous participants, with women being particularly affected.
When asked how their mental health has changed since physical distancing began, 60% of Indigenous participants indicated that their mental health has become "somewhat worse" or "much worse."
Among Indigenous participants, 46% of women and 32% of men described most of their days as "quite a bit stressful" or "extremely stressful." Moreover, 48% of Indigenous women participants reported symptoms consistent with moderate or severe generalized anxiety, compared with 31% of Indigenous men.
The crowdsourcing data collection initiative also reflected significant mental health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants. Indigenous participants were more likely than non-Indigenous participants to report fair or poor mental health and that their mental health had worsened since the physical distancing began.
Products
The study "Indigenous People and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic" is now available as part of the series StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada (45280001).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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