Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of children and young people: perspectives on evidence synthesis

We read the umbrella review on the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of children and young people by Bevilacqua et al1 with great interest, as this work provides an updated synthesis of evidence after our previously published umbrella review2 on that topic. The inclusion of more recent reviews and PROSPERO registration are notable advances in this work. However, a few concerns about this review should be addressed for scientific clarity and evidence-based decision-making on the mental health of children and young people globally. First, this work ‘was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines,’ whereas the PRISMA statement3 states that ‘PRISMA 2020 is not intended to guide systematic review conduct, for which comprehensive resources are available.’ For umbrella reviews, specific methodological guidance is available from the Joanna Briggs Institute) working group,4 which can...
Source: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: COVID-19 Letters to the editor Source Type: research