A Systematic Review of the Impact of Energy Insecurity on Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Energy is an increasingly important social and public health concern. It is essential for good health and a prerequisite for basic needs in the household. Public health emergencies like COVID-19 have been known to be associated with mental health crises such as increased levels of loneliness, depression, and anxiety. A systematic search of the PubMed, Semantic Scholar, and ScienceDirect databases was conducted. After duplicate removal, title, abstract, and content screening, retrieval, and quality assessment, 11 studies met the criteria for this systematic review of articles. This study highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic created a mental health crisis associated with various factors, particularly energy insecurity. The social implications for this study show that it is important for individuals and the public health community to recognize the impact that energy insecurity has on the population more specifically recognizing how energy insecurity affects mental health. Public health measures should focus on getting direct help to households that are struggling to keep the home at a safe temperature and pay their energy bills.