Mitigation of Mental Health Consequences during COVID-19 Pandemic in Response to Infodemic: A Global Epidemic of Misinformation

Abstract

Background- The COVID-19 Pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of corona virus disease 2019. Corona virus is a humanitarian crisis started in Wuhan in china leading to unprecedented risk to the human race. A fear storm of misinformation multitude the pandemic and triggers stigmatization, Racism, and discrimination regarding disease. WHO is leading the effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease outbreak. But a global epidemic of misinformation spreading rapidly through social media platforms and other outlets poses a precarious effect on mental health of individuals. Additionally lack of preparedness plans in various countries responsible for Infodemic. The present paper states that how misinformation leads to psychological consequences highlighting the concept of behavior, attitude, and mental health in context to Infodemic, also throws light on the myths regarding COVID-19. Objectives- 1. To scrutinize the psychological impact of misinformation during COVID-19, 2. To explain the importance of mental health during the outbreak of a Pandemic and 3. To describe various modalities to overcome the effect of wrong information on mental- health related to COVID-19 outbreak. Search engines- Research work published in various journals and databases including Pub med, Google scholar and Medrvix.org, have been searched with following key terms- Corona virus, Infodemic, Covid and misinformation, Pandemic, Psychological, Social media, Mental health, SARS-CoV-2, Telemedicine, Home confinement. Various news reports regarding psychological effects also considered and reviewed. Results- During the outbreak of Pandemic COVID-19, legion people have contracted the virus and plenty of them lost their lives, resulting in an incredible social and economic shock across the world. Misinformation and myths related to COVID disease have worsen the condition and leads to panic, mental-health issues, increasing suicide rates among youngsters. Various reviewed studies reported negative effects on the behavior and attitude of individuals leading to various psychological diseases. Conclusion- Now a day’s Infodemic related to COVID- 19 become a burning issue. To combat the effect on mental health, various Interventions including Appropriate research findings. Accurate mass media models, Evidence based Telemedicine approaches. Proper counseling, Cognitive Behavior therapy, etc. are required to amid the growing burden of pandemic along with the proliferation of fake news, misleading rumors, false theories and medication misinformation in this information age and social media surrounding COVID-19.