Depiction of mental health issues during Covid-19 pandemic in media: an analysis framework model and a pilot study (the cases of Australia, Germany and Lithuania)

Abstract

Aim of the study: To present the new model for the depiction of mental health issues during Covid-19 pandemic in the media Subject or material and methods: A unique 11-item framework was created for the analysis of the articles and the pilot study was conducted. Results: 365 online media articles related to mental health and Covid-19 from multiple news websites in Lithuania, Australia and Germany were included in the pilot study, which showed the power of the proposed model for depicting the mental health issues during Covid-19 pandemic Discussion: The authors suggest that the proposed model could be used for further studies gathering not only the newspapers but also the other sources of media (podcasts, TV news, radio) to have a wider scope for analysis and interpretation. As a lot of information nowadays is being gathered through social media, this could also be used as a source in future studies, especially to those relating to the younger generation. Conclusions: As indicated in our pilot study, many articles tend to focus on the adverse effects of the pandemic. Moreover, the news also lacked statistical information, a detailed explanation of the events and solutions to address the issues presented in the articles. With such a high flow of negative information, it is unsurprising that some experts estimate the mental health problems to rise rapidly in the upcoming months and years.