There is growing concern that the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has had a negative impact on youth mental health and increased service utilization for mental health problems. The small volume and low-quality information on mental health in the context of COVID-19 generated and disseminated through academic and media channels is a significant barrier to effective synthesis and decision making. Only longitudinal studies (or repeated cross-sectional studies of the same population) with pre-pandemic assessments or multiple assessments during COVID-19 can quantify these changes in a clear temporal sequence and account for sources of biases.

We are conducting a living systematic review to investigate changes in mental health and related service utilization in Canadian youth aged 0 to 24 years during COVID-19.

Because mental health during COVID-19 may differ across countries (i.e., differences in severity of restrictive measures taken to control infections such as school closures, and access to mental health services), we are limiting our search to studies that can provide valuable information to inform Canadians on mental health during COVID-19 and services use. Living systematic reviews are logistically challenging but are very useful when (1) important decisions need to be made that merit necessary resources; (2) low certainty of existing evidence is a barrier to decision making; and (3) emerging evidence can inform decisions, as is the case for mental health during COVID-19.