A Rapid Scoping Review of Publications Examining Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 in China

Objective: Despite the surge of publications examining the psychological impacts of COVID-19 in China, little was reported about effective solutions. The gap necessitates a timely literature synthesis. Methods: A rapid scoping review was conducted in major English and Chinese databases, ArXivs, and trial registries. Two researchers independently extracted data following the PRISMA guideline. Results: Screening of publications led to 102 English and 322 Chinese publications between December 31st, 2019, and June 15th, 2020. The majority resembled "Problem Admiration" efforts of commentaries on policies or guidelines (35.38%), and cross-sectional surveys (53.54%) that documented the prevalence and types of psychopathology in China during the pandemic. Although the publications unanimously called for clinical trials, solution-focused studies were scarce (2.12%). Conclusions: Researchers should move beyond “Problem Admiration” to coordinating rigorous trials of timely, scalable, and cost-effective prevention and intervention strategies to address the psychological demands of people in the current and future crises.