Covid-19 and Mental Illness: A Syndemic & Structural Perspective

The global spread of Covid-19 since 2020 is the worst pandemic in over 100 years. An estimated 15 million people have died world wide from the virus and at least 500 million have been infected(WHO,2022). Tens of millions have been hospitalized and many more have suffered without access to hospitalization. An outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a global epidemic of mental illness. Millions experience anxiety and depression,while many others have committed suicide. The unrelenting nature of Covid-19 has also undermined the sense of personal well-being among entire populations who fear contracting it. This session is focused on the relationships between Covid and mental illlness in populations of different income strata,educational levels,and gender,ethnic and racial groups. Papers using a syndemic and structural approach from Latin America,Africa,and Asia are particularly encouraged.Papers may be submitted in French and Spanish as well as English. The gravity of the Covid pandemic has given greater attention to the concept of syndemic. This epidemiologic term emerged in the 1990s with the global HIV epidemic(Singer,1990). A syndemic occurs when two or more diseases are intertwined and they interact with environmental,social,economic,cultural and physical factors of a population. They are particularly severe in groups that have been margenalized by historic and continuing social and economic inequality.