The impact of COVID-19 prevention and control policy adjustment on anxiety, depression and coping behavior in China: a cross-sectional online survey, 21–28 December, 2022

BACKGROUND: Following external situation reports, individuals perceive risks, experience different emotional reactions, and further change their behaviors. Therefor people’s psychology will also be affected by adjustment of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control policy, but it remains unknown what kind of coping behaviors will be produced due to psychology. This study defines coping behavior as “medical behavior and irrational consumption behavior after the adjustment of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control policy in China”, assesses the prevalence of negative emotions in the Chinese population after policy adjustments, and explores how negative emotions affect people’s coping behaviors, conducts baseline research, provides references and suggestions for policy formulation. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted during 21–28 December 2022, included sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 infection and irrational purchase behavior, psychological assessment, and opinion polling. Depression and anxiety status are assessed by PHQ-9 and GAD-7. The relationship between anxiety, depression and coping behavior was analyzed by Pearson χ(2) test, Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 3995 infected participants were included in this study, of which 2363(59.1%) and 1194(29.9%) had depression and anxiety. There was a significant difference in clinical treatment and irrational purchase behavior between different level of depression and anxiety. Depression was a risk factor for self- medication (OR = 1.254), seeking professional treatment (OR = 1.215), using online services of medical institutions (OR = 1.320), large-scale purchases of medicines (OR = 1.154) and masks (OR = 1.096). Anxiety was a risk factor for seeking professional treatment (OR = 1.285) and large-scale purchases of masks (OR = 1.168). CONCLUSION: After the adjustment of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control policy, patient risk perception can increase depression and anxiety. We found that associated with depression, COVID-19 patients are more likely to have medical behaviors such as self- medication, seeking professional treatment, using online services of medical institutions, and storage behaviors of medicines and masks; and anxiety associated with the coping behavior of patients to seek professional treatment and store masks in large quantities. We should improve people’s mental health, and on the other hand, we should give people effective psychological education during the epidemic. Therefore, we should set up psychological outpatient clinics in community health institutions, expanding mental health screening and guidance; relying on the psychological outpatient clinic, establish groups of people with depression or anxiety to carry out COVID-19 health education and peer education, to reduce adverse drug reactions, avoid panic seeking professional treatment and irrational purchase behavior, and protect public mental health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Capital Medical University (2023SY086), and informed consent was obtained from the study subjects before the investigation.