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Mental health and wellbeing of residents of Estonia during State of Emergency arising from the COVID-19 pandemic

Dear Resident of Estonia!

We, a group of researchers at Tallinn University, invite you to participate in a mental health study concerning the State of Emergency (SoE) in Estonia arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participation in the study is entirely voluntary and all data related to you will be kept confidential. It will be provided to the participating researchers only in an anonymous form (without email and IP addresses). It takes about 30 minutes to complete the survey.

Short summary of the Study
The aim of the study is to map aspects of the mental health of Estonian residents during the SoE, and to examine the dynamics of mental health during and after the SoE and COVID-19 pandemics.
Based on the data collected from the study it will be possible to analyze and provide timely data to the public of Estonia including the public sector to gain an overview of the current issues regarding mental health among all residents of Estonia.

The study is planned to be conducted in five data gathering waves from 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months following the declaration of the SoE on March 12th 2020. If you wish to participate in the following waves of the study, then please let us the of your email address. We use the email address only for the purposes of sending you information about the next data collection waves.

The data gathered in this study is processed and retained only as long as necessary for reaching the aims of the study. The data will be retained until the end of the study in December 31st 2021.

Your email address will be separated from the underlying data during the first level of processing by the analyst responsible for data management and the data will be forwarded to the researchers without your contact information or other identifying information.
The access to the data is provided only to the researchers in the research group of the study. During and after the end of the study anonymised data could be shared to other domestic or international research groups if they have approved their research with local ethics committees.

We use SurveyMonkey platform to conduct our study and that platform is in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines.

The study has also been approved by the Ethics Committee of Tallinn University.

For organizational and survey questions related to the study, please send an email to: koroonakysitlus@gmail.com

Project initiators and research project leaders from Tallinn University School of Natural Sciences and Health, and Centre of Excellence of Behavioural and Neural Sciences:
 
Kristjan Kask
Aleksander Pulver
Kadi Liik
Kristiina Uriko
Avo-Rein Tereping
Valeri Murnikov
Karel Kulbin
Karolyn Schiff
1.Please confirm that you am at least 18 years old and that you are responding to the questionnaire voluntarily
2.If you wish to participate in the next waves of this research, please insert you email address here:
First we ask some questions about your background, underlying health, wellbeing and coping.
3.Gender
4.Age:
5.Civil status:
6.Highest education background:
7.Native language:
8.Residence:
9.What type is your home:
10.Are you working (or volunteering) in some front line position (medical staff, first responder, police officer etc)?
11.How many persons are living with you in your current home (including yourself)?
12.How many of these people are age 60 or more?
13.How many children do you have?
14.Have you completed a corona virus test?
15.Which was the result?
16.If your result was positive, then currently: 
17.Do you have someone among your family members or closed ones infected to coronavirus?
18.Since the declaration of SoE in Estonia have you (or have you been) quarantined?
19.If yes then what type of quarantine it is (was):
20.Due to corona virus pandemics have you worn protection in public places?
21.If yes then what protection:
22.Do you wash your hands more often then usual?
I do not wash hands significantly more often
I wash hands significantly more often
23.How anxious are you currently about your health?
not anxious at all 
very anxious
24.How often do you visit grocery stores or pharmacies?
25.Have you bought, after the SoE was declared, non-prescription drugs from pharmacies despite the fact that you or your family members did not require them at that point?
26.What is the probability of you getting ill?
almost none 
very large
27.Have you been vaccinated yourself against seasonal flu?
28.How important do you consider getting information about COVID-19 symptoms?
I do not consider it to be important 
very important
29.What sources have you used to get the information about COVID-19?
30.In what way do you behave according to the guidelines of behaving in SoE?
I do not follow the guidelines 
I follow all guidelines
31.In what magnitude you consider these to be relevant?
not relevant at all 
very relevant
32.In what way your spending of your usual free time (activities, hobbies etc.) has changed because of SoE?
have not changed at all 
have changed a bit 
have changed in some way 
have changed significantly
have changed completely
33.How is your usual amount of free time (time besides work, studies and everyday household activities) changed because of SoE?
I have significantly less free time 
I have somewhat less free time 
It has not changed
I have somewhat more free time 
 I have significantly more free time
34.How often do you go out for a walk and/or do some sports?
not at all or less than 1 time a week
1-2 times a week
3-4 times a week
5-6 times a week 
every day 
2 or more times a day
35.How often do you spend your free time in nature (park, forest, beach etc.)?
not at all or less than 1 time a week
1-2 times a week
3-4 times a week
5-6 times a week 
every day 
2 or more times a day
36.How often do you spend your free time with friend(s) and/or closed one(s)* (incl. electronic channels broadcasting video such as Skype, Messenger, meet, Zoom etc.)? *please do not count those living together with you currently
not at all or less than 1 time a week
1-2 times a week
3-4 times a week
5-6 times a week 
every day 
2 or more times a day
37.How often do you spend your free time doing your main hobby or activity?
not at all or less than 1 time a week
1-2 times a week
3-4 times a week
5-6 times a week 
every day 
2 or more times a day
38.How often do you spend your free time doing fine arts (incl. drawing/painting or other type of art, music, dance etc.)
not at all or less than 1 time a week
1-2 times a week
3-4 times a week
5-6 times a week 
every day 
2 or more times a day
39.What do you currently do (select several choices if needed):
40.If you work then what changes in your work have been prevalent in the last month:
41.Are your duties in your work allowing you to work remotely:
42.If and how is SoE changed your workload and work hours?
43.What has been your income during the last month compared to previous months:
44.Now read thoroughly the list of problems and complaints described below which people may sometimes experience. Choose the option that describes the best how this problem has disturbed you in a last month.
not at all
seldom
sometimes
often
constantly
Feeling of sadness
Feeling no interest or pleasure of thingsLoss of interest
Feeling of worthlessness
Self-accusations
Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
Feeling lonely
Hopelessness about the future
Impossible to enjoy things
Feeling easily irritated or annoyed
Feeling anxious or fearful
Tension or inability to relax
Excessive worry about several different things
Feeling so restless that it is hard to sit still
Easily startled
Sudden attacks of panic with palpitations, shortness of breath, faintness, or other frightening bodily sensations
Fear of being outside home alone
Feeling afraid in public places or streets
Fear of fainting in public
Feeling afraid of travelling by bus, train, or carFear to ride bus, tram, train or car
Afraid to be the center of attention
Fear of interaction with strangers
Fatigue or loss of energy
Diminished ability to think of concentrate
Rest does not restore strength
Being easily fatigued
Difficulty in falling asleep
Restless or disturbed sleep
Waking up too early
45.Now please assess your consummation of alcohol during the past few weeks.
One alcohol unit is equal with 10 grams of pure (or absolute) alcohol. 500 ml of 5.2% beer contains 2,1 units; 120ml of 12% wine contains 1,1 units; 40ml of 40% strong alcohol contains 1,3 units; 500ml of 4,5% cider contains 1,8 units.

How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?  If you choose 'never' then skip questions 46 and 47.
never
monthly or less
2-4 times a month
2-3 times a week
4 or more times a week
46.How many alcohol units do you have on a typical day when you are drinking?
1 or 2
3 or 4
5 or 6
7 or 9
10 or more
47.How often do you drink six or more alcohol units per one occasion?
never
less than monthly
monthly
weekly
daily or almost daily
48.Please rate how often during the last week you have thought or felt as written in the statements below.
none of the time 
rarely
some of the time
often
all of the time
There is always someone I can talk to about my day-to-day problems
I miss having a really close friend
I experience a general sense of emptiness
There are plenty of people I can lean on when I have problems
I miss the pleasure of the company of others
I find my circle of friends and acquaintances too limited
There are many people I can trust completely
There are enough people I feel close to
I miss having people around me
I often feel rejected
I can call on my friends whenever I need them
49.The items below describe our feelings and evaluations concerning one's life and activities. Read every item and rate how much you agree with these. Answer according to your own feelings, rather than how you think "most people" would answer.
I DISagree 
I DISagree a little 
I neither agree nor disagree
I agree a little
I agree a lot
In uncertain times, I usually expect the best.
It's easy for me to relax.
If something can go wrong for me, it will.
I'm always optimistic about my future.
I enjoy my friends a lot.
It's important for me to keep busy.
I hardly ever expect things to go my way.
I don't get upset too easily.
I rarely count on good things happening to me.
Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad.
50.Next we ask you about your feelings and thoughts during the last month. In each case, you will be asked to indicate how often you felt or thought a certain way.
never
almost never
sometimes 
fairly Often 
very Often
In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?
In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?
In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and “stressed”?
In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?
In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?
In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?
In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life?
In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things?
In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that were outside of your control?
In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?
51.Please respond to each item how strongly you agree with these items.
strongly disagree
disagree
neutral
agree
strongly agree
I tend to bounce back quickly after hard times
I have a hard time making it through stressful events.
It does not take me long to recover from a stressful event.
It is hard for me to snap back when something bad happens.
I usually come through difficult times with little trouble.
I tend to take a long time to get over set-backs in my life.
52.Please respond to each item how strongly you agree with these items
completely disagree
completely agree
I don’t like situations that are uncertain.
I dislike questions which could be answered in many different ways.
I find that a well ordered life with regular hours suits my temperament.
I feel uncomfortable when I don’t understand the reason why an event occurred in my life.
I feel irritated when one person disagrees with what everyone else in a group believes.
I don’t like to go into a situation without knowing what I can expect from it.
When I have made a decision, I feel relieved.
When I am confronted with a problem, I’m dying to reach a solution very quickly.
I would quickly become impatient and irritated if I would not find a solution to a problem immediately.
I don’t like to be with people who are capable of unexpected actions.
I dislike it when a person’s statement could mean many different things.
I find that establishing a consistent routine enables me to enjoy life more.
I enjoy having a clear and structured mode of life.
I do not usually consult many different opinions before forming my own view.
I dislike unpredictable situations.
53.Below is a list of problems and complaints that people sometime have in response to stressful life experiences. Please read each one carefully and select your answer to indicate how much you have been bothered by that problem in the past month.
Not at all 
A little bit 
 Moderately
Quite a bit 
Extremely
Repeated, disturbing memories, thoughts, or images of a stressful experience from the past?
Repeated, disturbing dreams of a stressful experience from the past?
Suddenly acting or feeling as if a stressful experience were happening again (as if you were reliving it)?
Feeling very upset when something reminded you of a stressful experience from the past?
Having physical reactions (e.g., heart pounding, trouble breathing, or sweating) when something reminded you of a stressful experience from the past?
Avoid thinking about or talking about a stressful experience from the past or avoid having feelings related to it?
Avoid activities or situations because they remind you of a stressful experience from the past?
Trouble remembering important parts of a stressful experience from the past?
Loss of interest in things that you used to enjoy?
Feeling distant or cut off from other people?
Feeling emotionally numb or being unable to have loving feelings for those close to you?
Feeling as if your future will somehow be cut short?
Trouble falling or staying asleep?
Feeling irritable or having angry outbursts?
Having difficulty concentrating?
Being “super alert” or watchful on guard?
Feeling jumpy or easily startled?
54.Finally we wish to understand how are different styles of thinking related to anxiety and coping mechanisms. Please answer the following questions
Thank You!
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