RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After polling 30 countries and consulting more than 21 thousand adults, the international consulting firm Ipsos revealed its latest report, “A year of Covid-19”, which addressed the projections and feelings that the pandemic has left throughout the period in which the virus has been in circulation.
Thus, it was determined that an average of 45% of adults say that their mental and emotional health has worsened in the last year. Meanwhile, in Chile, the figure rises to 56%, placing the country in second place worldwide, only surpassed by Turkey, which has 61%. Of the Chilean respondents, only 14% reported having improved their emotional wellbeing.
In the region, 53% of Brazilians, 50% of Peruvians, 46% of Argentines, and 40% of Colombians think their mental health has worsened.
Also, 27% of those surveyed say that their mental health has worsened compared to the beginning of 2021, while 23% consider it improved. In this item, respondents in Chile score 27% in both alternatives, which places the country in 16th place worldwide.
Life before Covid
On the other hand, the survey showed that an average of 59% of the countries surveyed expect to return to pre-Covid life within the next 12 months; 32% believe that this will happen in a period between 7 and 12 months; while 8% say that this will never happen.
In Chile, 56% believe that everything will return to normal within 4 to 12 months, but 36% believe it will take more than a year. Only 7% respond that pre-Covid life will be achieved in 0 to 3 months, and 2% say that the country is living similarly as before the pandemic began.
When the pandemic could be contained globally, 58% indicate that this will happen by 2022, while 13% say it is already under control. In Chile, the figures indicate that 39% believe that the situation will be stabilized by 2022 and 36% think it will be in more than a year. Only 2% say that the health crisis is already under control, and 5% believe that this will be achieved within the next three months.
For the Public Affairs Manager of Ipsos Chile, Alejandra Ojeda, “the costs of the pandemic have yet to be measured. The most evident so far has been the economic costs for the country and the deterioration of household income”.
“We’re just beginning to realize that there are groups in society that have experienced more costs than others, such as the decline in the incorporation of women into the labor market. But we still need to understand the level of mental health deterioration we are at and which group is mostly damaged: the elderly, women, working women, children? What is clear is the challenge that the health system will face in the short term in this area,” she adds.
Source: La Tercera