SAN MATEO, Calif., April 23, 2020 –The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health) and Evidation Health announced today a nationwide study that seeks to understand and uncover COVID-19 symptoms and the mental health impact of the pandemic. As a collaborator, Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine contributed to the design of the study.
The COVID-19 Experience Study will collect self-reported symptoms and health care interactions as well as movement, sleep, and heart rate data from health trackers and smartphones, from tens of thousands of individuals across the United States. Powering this study will be Evidation’s proprietary platform, My Evidation, and its member base of more than 3.7 million Americans. All the data in this study has been participant-consented and de-identified. All adults residing in the U.S. may be eligible to participate. More information on enrollment is available at https://join.study.myachievement.com/covid2020.
“There is a silent pandemic of anxiety, stress, and depression that is running alongside the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Luca Foschini, co-founder and Chief Data Scientist of Evidation. “
“With this study, we hope to understand the contours of the mental health impact of this extraordinary situation and how it interacts with people’s physical health.”
Previous research by Evidation has shown that 50 percent of people nationwide are reporting increased anxiety over the previous week, up from a starting point of 29 percent in mid-March, when the federal emergency was first declared. Forty-five percent of respondents with anxiety and depression have reported being worried about seeking necessary care that is unrelated to coronavirus.
“The anxiety, grief and strain that COVID-19 is putting on New Yorkers must be better understood so that we can provide the right support for people throughout the five boroughs,” said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. “This study will help us gain a deeper understanding of behavioral health needs that can be translated into stronger mental health support for our city.”
“Mount Sinai is committed to leveraging all possible resources to fight COVID-19 on multiple fronts. We recognize that now is the time for cooperation and partnership in service of the common good,” said Laura M. Huckins, PhD, Assistant Professor of Genetic and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has traced the molecular epidemiology of the New York outbreak in a recent study, developed and received emergency authorization for a coronavirus antibody test, and is pioneering the use of stem cell and plasma therapies in treating COVID-19. “Combined with our recent STOP COVID NYC initiative, which tracks COVID-19 symptoms and mental health impacts throughout NYC, this work can help characterize the true impact of the pandemic so we can best understand how to care for our collective community in New York City and beyond.”
In addition to providing insights into the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, the study has been designed to gather symptom data that will be contributed to Boston Children’s Hospital’s COVID Near You symptom tracker program. Participants will complete the survey daily for 5 months and the study data will also be made available to public health officials, researchers, and other interested parties, who will have the opportunity to make data or collaboration requests.
Achievement is the largest virtual site in the U.S., and the geographic, demographic, and health status diversity of the platform makes it particularly valuable for this type of research. The Achievement network represents more than 32,000 U.S. zip codes with engaged individuals spanning dozens of health conditions. Achievement has already executed multiple influenza-like illness (ILI) studies — in collaboration with organizations such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) — that combine symptoms self-reporting, validated diagnostics, and data from wearable devices.
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About NYC Health
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About the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
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About Evidation
Evidation measures health in everyday life and enables anyone to participate in ground-breaking research and health programs. Built upon a foundation of user privacy and control over permissioned health data, Evidation's platform is trusted by millions of individuals—generating data with unprecedented speed, scale, and rigor. We partner with leading healthcare companies to understand health and disease outside the clinic walls. Guided by our mission to enable and empower everyone to participate in better health outcomes, Evidation is working to bring people individualized, proactive, and accessible healthcare—faster. Founded in 2012, Evidation Health is headquartered in California with additional offices around the globe. To learn more, visit evidation.com, or follow us on Twitter @evidation.
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