Position Paper: Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health

Position paper published in of Lancet psychiatry, A group of mental health professionals and other individuals around the world gathered to discuss the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on mental health care. The authors of the study pointed out that the pandemic reveals both system failures and opportunities to improve the provision of mental health.

Potential consequences of COVID-19

The COVID-19 public health crisis has led to a surge in known risk factors for mental health, including everything from social isolation to unemployment, general feelings of anxiety and insecurity. Given these risk factors and their potential long-term effects on mental health, the researchers advocate both short-term and ongoing responses.

In most public surveys, COVID-19 is associated with increased symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Panic buying, violent TV watching, and other unhealthy behaviors have been reported. Increased use of social media, which is also reported, raises the odds of anxiety (odds ratio 1.72 [95% CI, 1.31–2.26]) And depression (1.91) [1.52–2.41]). Quarantine contributes to stress and anger and can also encourage behavior such as online gambling.

People with COVID-19 face post-traumatic symptoms, psychological instability, depression and anxiety. “The neurotropic potential of SARS-CoV-2 underscores the need to assess potential short- and long-term effects on the nervous system,” the study authors write.

People with existing mental health conditions, such as SARS-CoV-2, are generally at increased risk of infection. Older people not only have an increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness, but they may also have cognitive decline, which increases the risk of mental health problems. People with pre-existing mental health conditions and disabilities are also particularly vulnerable to quarantine, physical distance, food availability, and general disruption of daily life.

Mental health services

The authors of the study suggest revisiting traditional mental health approaches to improve the cost and scale of treatment. Public health response to COVID-19 (new coronavirus infectious disease) (# If there is no character limit, add parentheses when first appearing In addition to clear and up-to-date information on infection rates and distance measurements (to reduce uncertainty), information on education, self-care, family support and inter-agency collaboration should be included. The study authors also identified and supported steps already taken to control the infection and promote the health of certain populations, such as healthcare professionals.

Mental health adaptation

The authors of the study recommend an ethical and rights-based approach to care. They admit potential discrimination “in arbitrating access to inadequate medical interventions and in applying and comparing the additional risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in involuntary institutionalization decisions.” Potential future service reductions, imbalanced additional illness burdens, reduced access to services, inadequate financial support, exacerbated inequality in access to health care, and greater family and caregiver The need for support is also a valid concern.

Because access to studies is often limited and face-to-face contact is limited or unavailable, patients and caregivers have the power to take ownership of their care to ensure best results. Research authors said they need to feel. The relative risks and benefits of changing treatments should be considered, especially in patients receiving clozapine, injectables, or electroconvulsive therapy.

“Treatment plans may need to be renegotiated quickly and should be based on best practices,” the researcher said. “Therefore, we need to enhance and create robust resources to support shared decision making.”

The benefits of human-centred care have been noted and should not be ignored if prompt decision making is required. Researchers say that care design and delivery can be enhanced “by increasing peer worker involvement in co-designing adaptation services, and by increasing the number of peer workers, especially in countries with limited resources.” ..

Long-term needs

Future research authors propose community monitoring and mental health screening to mitigate the potential long-term effects of COVID-19 on mental health. There are two possibilities for digital health and digital phenotype. Once local needs are identified, community stakeholder groups can design interventions.

Community support services can help people experiencing acute distress, as well as those who do not trust mainstream mental health care. This requires healthcare systems to anticipate and prepare for an increasing “unmet mental health need” among vulnerable groups. Telemedicine is one way to bridge the care gap during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Providing mental health care

The authors of this study list the following indicators that should be evaluated regularly during and after the pandemic and compared to pre-pandemic data to determine changes in childbirth.

• Percentage of all mental health services provided in hospitalized, emergency, institutional (eg prison), outpatient, community, and home-based environments
• Percentage of face-to-face, video, and phone contacts with various types of mental health providers
• Prescription drug proportions and psychiatric drug use
• Access and use of various mental health services, both by people with existing mental health disorders and by people with new incident cases of mental illness, and the sociodemographic characteristics of these users
• Quality of care for various mental health services, focusing on user expectations and satisfaction, and functional, occupational, and clinical outcomes (including family or caregiver views) (acceptance to healthcare providers and (Including satisfaction)
• Linking mental health care disparities, socioeconomic, racial and ethnic data with quality indicators
• Mental and general health services, social welfare, other facilities (schools, prisons, etc.) and community integration
• Government and non-governmental financial support for mental health and social care services, and healthcare leaders should regularly monitor the use and effectiveness of mental health care. During and after the pandemic, certain indicators should be evaluated regularly and compared to pre-pandemic data to determine changes in childbirth.

“Priorize traditional methods of managing the gap between supply and demand in mental health care (ie distribution) to focus on quality and impartial care, rather than just focusing on how much work is done. We have the opportunity to replace it with a system,” the authors conclude.

Several research authors have declared a partnership with the pharmaceutical industry. See the original reference for a complete list of author disclosures.

reference

Moreno 100, Wykes T, Galderisi S etc. How mental health care should change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.. Lancet psychiatry.. 2020; 7(9):813-824.