The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major disruptions in our daily lives, potentially leading to a decrease in well-being, and higher levels of anxiety and depression. We also know that some have been more affected than others, including teens, older adults, women and racialized communities, contributing to widening an already existing health gap.
Launched in June 2020, the COHESION study, led by a team of researchers across Canada, evaluates the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on mental health, well-being and health inequities. With your help, we can better understand how our daily activities, social interactions, and the diverse contexts in which we live contribute to our mental health and well-being, throughout and following the pandemic.
The data collected will help decision makers and public health experts design future public health interventions for communities and individuals alike.
How can I participate?
It’s simple: Click on participate to fill out online surveys!
Once you do, you will also be invited to download our research app on your smartphone. It will collect information on your mobility, physical activity and social interactions.
Online Surveys
Mandatory
Initial survey: You will be asked to complete a first survey (10 minutes) on your general health and more. Once registered, you will receive login information to your COHESION account so you can log into your portal and fill out follow-up surveys.
Follow-up surveys: You will regularly be invited to complete follow-up surveys to share your habits and experiences (10-15 minutes). This timely data will be very useful for public health officials to better understand how we are adjusting to the current context.
Win a prize!
Each time you start a weekly survey, you are automatically entered into a raffle to win one of three $100 Amazon gift cards!
Smartphone APP
Optional
When you register for the study, you can also choose to download a smartphone app.* This app will keep track of your daily mobility (GPS) and physical activity level (pedometer - counting of steps).**
The app will prompt you to answer very brief questions on your well-being and daily activities.
View details *
* Download the free Ethica app for your iOS or Android smartphone and open the app to activate it. Carry your smartphone as you would normally with the app running in the background to record GPS location and step count.
** The app only uploads information when your device is connected to Wi-Fi. It does not consume any mobile data or require a data plan to work.
COHESION USER PROFILE
The Data We Collect
ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES RELATED TO COVID-19 AND public health MEASURES
DAILY MOBILITY AND CHANGES IN SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
MENTAL HEALTH and well-being
SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS
Food and financial Security, access to healthcare
HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
Who IS BEHIND COHESION?
This study was founded by a multidisciplinary team of epidemiologists, public health researchers, and mental health experts from the University of Montreal (Yan Kestens, Gregory Moullec, Kate Zinszer). It is now led by Gregory Moullec and Yan Kestens and is supported by various public health authorities across the country.
TIMELINE
The COHESION study was launched in June 2020. As a long-term study, it will continue until 2023. If you sign up, you will be invited to fill bi-monthly surveys for the duration of the study.
ELIGIBILITY
In order to take part in the study, participants must be over 15 years old and currently living in Canada.
PRIVACY
All information collected will be kept confidential. Data provided is only accessible to research team members. All data will be stored on secure Canadian servers (Compute Canada). The results will be shared with public health agencies. Data used for analysis and future scientific publications will be anonymized and aggregated.
Join the Cohesion Study!
Contribute to research and help decision makers and researchers address the challenges we are facing today.
