scholarly journals COVID-19 disease emergency operational instructions for Mental Health Departments issued by the Italian Society of Epidemiological Psychiatry

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Starace ◽  
Maria Ferrara
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Community Psychiatry ◽  
Italian Society ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Vulnerable Subjects

Abstract During the current COVID-19 disease emergency, it is not only an ethical imperative but also a public health responsibility to keep the network of community psychiatry services operational, particularly for the most vulnerable subjects (those with mental illness, disability, and chronic conditions). At the same time, it is necessary to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 disease within the outpatient and inpatient services affiliated with Mental Health Departments. These instructions, first published online on 16 March 2020 in their original Italian version, provide a detailed description of actions, proposed by the Italian Society of Epidemiological Psychiatry, addressed to Italian Mental Health Departments during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The overall goal of the operational instructions is to guarantee, during the current health emergency, the provision of the best health care possible, taking into account both public health necessities and the safety of procedures. These instructions could represent a useful resource to mental health providers, and stakeholders to face the current pandemic for which most of Mental Health Departments worldwide are not prepared to. These instructions could provide guidance and offer practical tools which can enable professionals and decision makers to foresee challenges, like those already experienced in Italy, which in part can be avoided or minimised if timely planned. These strategies can be shared and adopted, with the appropriate adjustments, by Mental Health Departments in other countries.

scholarly journals Telemental health for reaching out to patients in a time of pandemic: Provider survey and systematic review with meta-analysis of patient satisfaction (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaele Mazziotti ◽  
Grazia Rutigliano
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Random Effect Model ◽  
Telemental Health ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to impact mental health, while disrupting access to care, due to physical distance measures and to the unexpected pressure on public health services. Telemental health (TM) was rapidly implemented to deliver healthcare services. OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were: i) to present state-of-the-art TM research; ii) to survey mental health providers about care delivery during the pandemic; iii) to assess patient satisfaction with TM. METHODS Document clustering was applied to map research topics within TM research. A survey was circulated among mental health providers. Patient satisfaction was investigated through a meta-analysis of studies retrieved from Web of KnowledgeSM and Scopus® comparing satisfaction scores between TM and face-to-face (FtF) interventions for mental health disorders. Hedges’ g was used as effect size measure. Effect sizes were pooled using a random-effect model. Sources of heterogeneity and bias were sought. RESULTS Evidence about TM has been accumulating since 2000’, especially regarding service implementation, depressive/anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and special populations. Research was concentrated in a few countries. The survey (n=174 respondents from Italy, n=120 international) confirmed that, after the onset of COVID-19 outbreak, there was a massive shift from FtF to TM delivery of care. However, respondents held skeptical views about TM, and did not feel sufficiently trained and satisfied. Meta-analysis of 29 studies (n=2143) showed that patients would be equally satisfied with TM as compared to FtF (Hedges’ g=-0,001, 95% CI: -0,116-0,114, p=0,985, Q=43,83, I2=36%, p=0,029), if technology-related issues were minimized. CONCLUSIONS Mental health services equipped with TM will be more able to successfully cope with public health crises. Both providers and patients need to be actively engaged in digitization, to re-shape their reciprocal trust around technological innovations. CLINICALTRIAL The protocol was registered in PROSPERO [registration number: CRD42020192299].

Development of a Scale to Assess Mental Health Providers' Mindfulness in Session

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Calderon ◽  
Paul E. Hagan ◽  
Jennifer A. Munch ◽  
Crystal Rofkahr ◽  
Sinead Unsworth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers

Addressing COVID-19 Worry and Social Isolation in Home-Based Primary Care

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Elizabeth Weiskittle ◽  
Michelle Mlinac ◽  
LICSW Nicole Downing
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Home Based Primary Care ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Socially Isolated

Social distancing measures following the outbreak of COVID-19 have led to a rapid shift to virtual and telephone care. Social workers and mental health providers in VA home-based primary care (HBPC) teams face challenges providing psychosocial support to their homebound, medically complex, socially isolated patient population who are high risk for poor health outcomes related to COVID-19. We developed and disseminated an 8-week telephone or virtual group intervention for front-line HBPC social workers and mental health providers to use with socially isolated, medically complex older adults. The intervention draws on skills from evidence-based psychotherapies for older adults including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Problem-Solving Therapy. The manual was disseminated to VA HBPC clinicians and geriatrics providers across the United States in March 2020 for expeditious implementation. Eighteen HBPC teams and three VA Primary Care teams reported immediate delivery of a local virtual or telephone group using the manual. In this paper we describe the manual’s development and clinical recommendations for its application across geriatric care settings. Future evaluation will identify ways to meet longer-term social isolation and evolving mental health needs for this patient population as the pandemic continues.

Blank Screens (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienne Lapidos
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Psychologist ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Theoretical Orientations ◽  
Self Disclosure

UNSTRUCTURED With the advent of COVID-19, psychiatry video visits have become commonplace practically overnight. Patients and mental health providers are now presented with new opportunities and risks with respect to self-disclosure. In this Viewpoint, a clinical psychologist grapples with the new self-disclosure landscape as she and a patient both connect to therapy from their homes. The piece explores how various theoretical orientations in psychotherapy have addressed self-disclosure historically, and how video visit technologies have changed the boundaries of what can be shared.

scholarly journals Burnout and depression among psychiatry residents during COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulmajeed A. Alkhamees ◽  
Hatem Assiri ◽  
Hatim Yousef Alharbi ◽  
Abdullah Nasser ◽  
Mohammad A. Alkhamees
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Psychiatry Residents ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Frontline Workers

AbstractVery few studies have been concerned with assessing the prevalence of burnout and depressive symptoms, especially during an infectious outbreak on non-frontline health care workers, such as a psychiatrist. In such instances, the role of psychiatrists and other mental health providers as a source of psychological support to the public and frontline workers is indispensable and valuable. This study aims to assess the prevalence of burnout and depressive symptoms, and their correlation, during the COVID-19 pandemic among psychiatry residents in Saudi Arabia. A total of 121 out of 150 psychiatry residents in Saudi Arabia completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Patient’s Health Questionnaire for the assessment of burnout and depressive symptoms. Burnout symptoms were found in 27.3%, and another 27.3% reported having depression symptoms. In addition, 16.5% reported having both burnout and depressive symptoms, with a significant relationship between them. Participants in the first 2 years of training and having a history of receiving mental health treatment in the past 2 years were at higher risk. The need is urgent to increase investment in mental health services and to construct a plan to reduce this risk of burnout and depression among psychiatrists by developing preventative strategies to prevent burnout and promote wellness is more important than ever.

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