The pandemic is entrenching and exacerbating pre-existing inequalities, write Dr Antonis Kousoulis, Prof Tine Van Bortel and Prof Ann John. Plus letters from Dr Graham Ash and John Culley
Richard Bentall’s thoughtful piece (Has the pandemic really caused a ‘tsunami’ of mental health problems?, 9 February) resonates with our own Mental Health in the Pandemic study. Since March 2020, we have found similar evidence of how unequally UK adults are being affected by the pandemic, which is entrenching and exacerbating pre-existing inequalities. Our data also supports Prof Bentall’s point that economic threats are particularly harmful to people’s mental health.
Our studies of the pandemic are the latest in a vast body of evidence showing that poverty and unemployment are emotionally devastating. They have long-term, intergenerational effects on individual, family and community wellbeing, and on the functioning of whole societies and economies.
