Cigna COVID Global Impact Study: Physical Health Indicators Globally More Resilient, Stable Than Mental Health and Other Factors

By Clive Riddle, February 5, 2021

Cigna's International Markets business has just released its fourth COVID-19 Global Impact Study. Cigna states the series, based on Cigna's annual 360 Well-being Study, “provides further insight into the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's well-being in 11 markets around the globe.”

The new 17-page report, involved Cigna engaging “more than 23,000 people across Mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States between January and October 2020, to show the changes in attitudes during the pandemic.”

Cigna reports that “the latest survey data shows that after months of pandemic-related restrictions, periodic stay-at-home orders, changing restrictions on travel and social gatherings, and multiple waves of infection, people worldwide have become even more concerned about the future. According to the study, almost half of global respondents said concern for the future is their greatest cause of stress. Another common area of stress is the balance between work life and family life. More than 40% of respondents reported low well-being scores and high stress levels in both of these areas, with 14% saying their level of stress is currently unmanageable.”

Cigna noted that while perceived well-being declined worldwide, from around a mean 62.5 on their index at the start of 2000 to 61.2 in June, and then rising slightly since – “in the U.S. it was a more positive picture, with the well-being index improving by a remarkable 2.6 points. Respondents reported significant improvements in their feelings of health and well-being.”

Cigna provides these two takeaways summarizing the report:

“What is striking about the study is that the pandemic is primarily a threat to health. And yet, the  physical indicators are the ones that remain most resilient and stable. It’s other factors, such as family, work, social and finance, that are showing the heavy toll of the virus and the global response to it. This is telling in itself of the nature of human health and well-being and the interconnected role of the factors that influence it.”

“We’re entering a new phase in response to the pandemic, one where it will be important for organizations to support their workforce by offering tailored healthcare programs that cater for a wide variety of perceptions and experiences across the globe. They need to be sensitive to the fact that emotions of employees could range across a broad spectrum and they need to provide solutions that truly address that.”