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Healthline.com, the nation’s No. 1 health-information website, today announced the launch of the Healthline Mental Health Index, a project in which the company is regularly surveying its audience about the emotional health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and incorporating the results with surveys of the general U.S. population via YouGov. Healthline also announced the Healthline Mental Health Hub, a one-stop source for trusted information about coping with issues surrounding COVID-19. 

“Millions of people turn to Healthline every day for information about the coronavirus and how to deal with the resulting issues of anxiety and depression,” said Dr. E Hahn Lee, a former family physician who leads Healthline’s Medical Affairs team. “It’s critical to track the emotional well-being of Americans during this crisis. The nation needs to address all the invisible concerns caused by the pandemic.” 

Healthline launched its survey among its readers on March 27. The survey included the PHQ-4 scale, which is a validated clinical scale used to identify signs of anxiety and depression in the general population. The same questions were included in YouGov’s COVID-19tracker conducted among the general U.S. population starting April 2. 

The findings include: Three out of five Americans remain afraid of contracting the virus based on the sixth wave of YouGov’s tracker. This figure has remained stable over the past month Fear and anxiety among men is on the rise: from the survey wave ending April 20, 55% of men reported fear of contracting the virus compared with 50% two weeks earlier; anxiety among men rose from 15% to 22% in the same time period as measured by the PHQ-4 scale. In comparison, 64% of women reported fear of contracting the virus, down from 70% two weeks ago. Anxiety among women also declined from 34% to 27% in the same time period. 25% of Americans are looking for information about how to deal with anxiety and stress and 21% want help for coping with isolation. Close to two out of five Healthline readers may be experiencing moderate to severe depression. 22% of Healthline readers are concerned they have COVID-19 symptoms, vs. 4% of the general population. Hispanics express more fear and anxiety than other ethnic groups. According to the data collected by YouGov, the percentage who are fearful of contracting the virus has risen from 57% two weeks ago to 64% in the survey wave ending April 20. 

Looking at the gap between people’s health questions and the topics they find most difficult to find answers to shows three concerns: Of the 38% of Americans who say they want to understand how seriously they could get sick if they contracted the virus: 60% find this information difficult to find Of the 19% who report looking for information on how to care for aging parents or children, 59% find this information difficult to find Of the 14% who say they don’t know who to trust for their health questions at this time, 58% find it a challenge 

“Worldwide, people are concerned and are uncertain where to turn for trusted information during this unprecedented time,” said Healthline Media CEO David Kopp. “At Healthline, nothing is more important to us than meeting this need. Healthline's mission is to be your trusted ally as we make the world stronger and healthier.” 

To meet the need, Healthline Media already has published more than 300 evidence-based and medically-vetted articles about COVID-19on its flagship brand Healthline.com and sister sites MedicalNewsToday.com and Greatist.com. The company will continue publishing at this pace for the duration of the pandemic, in addition to its regular 1,000 monthly articles and videos about health, nutrition and lifestyle. All of Healthline Media’s articles and videos are free to anyone who logs on to the company’s sites. 

Healthline has created a repository of its COVID-19 content pertaining to mental health. The Healthline Mental Health Hub went live on Friday, May 1 to coincide with the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Month in the U.S.