Psychological interventions and the Covid-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Félix Inchausti ◽  
Angus MacBeth ◽  
Ilanit Hasson-Ohayon ◽  
Giancarlo Dimaggio
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Psychological Interventions ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Salient Points ◽  
Mental Health Distress

The coronavirus COVID-19 and the global pandemic has already had a substantial disruptive impact on society, posing major challenges to the provision of mental health services in a time of crisis, and carrying the spectre of an increased burden to mental health, both in terms of existing psychiatric disorder, and emerging psychological distress from the pandemic. In this paper we provide a framework for understanding the key challenges for psychologically informed mental health care during and beyond the pandemic. We identify three groups that can benefit from psychological approaches to mental health, and/or interventions relating to COVID-19. These are i) healthcare workers engaged in frontline response to the pandemic and their patients; ii) individuals who will experience the emergence of new mental health distress as a function of being diagnosed with COVID-19, or losing family and loved ones to the illness, or the psychological effects of prolonged social distancing; and iii) individuals with existing mental health conditions who are either diagnosed with COVID-19 or whose experience of social distancing exacerbates existing vulnerabilities. Drawing on existing literature and our own experience of adapting treatments to the crisis we suggest a number of salient points to consider in identifying risks and offering support to all three groups. We also offer a number of practical and technical considerations for working psychotherapeutically with existing patients where COVID-19 restrictions have forced a move to online or technologically mediated delivery of psychological interventions.

scholarly journals Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 Pandemia: A Review of Clinical and Psychological Traits

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 491-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Kontoangelos ◽  
Marina Economou ◽  
Charalambos Papageorgiou
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Medical Staff ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Psychological Traits ◽  
The World ◽  
Mental Health Effects ◽  
Anxiety And Fear

Objective As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeps across the world, it is causing widespread concern, fear and stress, all of which are natural and normal reactions to the changing and uncertain situation that everyone finds themselves in.Methods In this general review, we examined the literature about the psychological effects of COVID-19 pandemia. In total 65 papers were reviewed using the Medline computer database. Only publications in English were selected.Results Children are likely to be experiencing worry, anxiety and fear and older people are also those with underlying health conditions, having been identified as more vulnerable to COVID-19, can be extremely frightening and very fear-inducing. China and several other countries took strict isolation measures. Medical staff and affiliated healthcare workers (staff) are under both physical and psychological pressure.Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic is exceptional. Its effect will likely be imprinted on each individual involved. Extensive stressors will emerge or become worsened. Many medical staff workers will be harmfully psychologically affected.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities: Essential Workers, Mental Health, and the Coronavirus Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 003464462110342
Author(s):  
Jevay Grooms ◽  
Alberto Ortega ◽  
Joaquin A.-A. Rubalcaba ◽  
Edward Vargas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Hispanic Americans ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Data Set ◽  
General Anxiety Disorder ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Mental Health Distress

Evidence is emerging of the pandemic disproportionately impacting communities of color. This study investigates mental health distress among essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic across race and ethnicity. We evaluate individual responses to the patient health questionnaire and general anxiety disorder questionnaire using a unique, nationally representative data set. Our findings suggest that essential healthcare workers reported the highest rates of mental health distress at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. However, when evaluated across race and ethnicity, we find that Black essential healthcare workers disproportionately report symptoms of anxiety; while, Hispanic essential healthcare workers disproportionately report symptoms of depression. Additionally, we find that being a Black or Hispanic essential nonhealthcare worker is associated with higher levels of distress related to anxiety and depression. These findings highlight the additional dimensions to which Black and Hispanic Americans may be disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, it calls into question how the essential worker classification, compounded by US unemployment policies, is potentially amplifying the mental health distress experienced by workers.

Prevalence of Self-Reported Depression Symptoms and Perceived Anxiety Among Community-Dwelling U.S. Adults Reporting Tinnitus

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 959-970
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Reavis ◽  
James A. Henry ◽  
Lynn M. Marshall ◽  
Kathleen F. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Community Based Interventions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
Mental Health Distress

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between tinnitus and self-reported mental health distress, namely, depression symptoms and perceived anxiety, in adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey between 2009 and 2012. A secondary aim was to determine if a history of serving in the military modified the associations between tinnitus and mental health distress. Method This was a cross-sectional study design of a national data set that included 5,550 U.S. community-dwelling adults ages 20 years and older, 12.7% of whom were military Veterans. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between tinnitus and mental health distress. All measures were based on self-report. Tinnitus and perceived anxiety were each assessed using a single question. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, a validated questionnaire. Multivariable regression models were adjusted for key demographic and health factors, including self-reported hearing ability. Results Prevalence of tinnitus was 15%. Compared to adults without tinnitus, adults with tinnitus had a 1.8-fold increase in depression symptoms and a 1.5-fold increase in perceived anxiety after adjusting for potential confounders. Military Veteran status did not modify these observed associations. Conclusions Findings revealed an association between tinnitus and both depression symptoms and perceived anxiety, independent of potential confounders, among both Veterans and non-Veterans. These results suggest, on a population level, that individuals with tinnitus have a greater burden of perceived mental health distress and may benefit from interdisciplinary health care, self-help, and community-based interventions. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12568475

scholarly journals Causal Factors of Effective Psychosocial Outcomes in Online Mental Health Communities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koustuv Saha ◽  
Amit Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Psychosocial Outcomes ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Case Control Studies ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
Mental Health Distress ◽  
And Control

Online mental health communities enable people to seek and provide support, and growing evidence shows the efficacy of community participation to cope with mental health distress. However, what factors of peer support lead to favorable psychosocial outcomes for individuals is less clear. Using a dataset of over 300K posts by ∼39K individuals on an online community TalkLife, we present a study to investigate the effect of several factors, such as adaptability, diversity, immediacy, and the nature of support. Unlike typical causal studies that focus on the effect of each treatment, we focus on the outcome and address the reverse causal question of identifying treatments that may have led to the outcome, drawing on case-control studies in epidemiology. Specifically, we define the outcome as an aggregate of affective, behavioral, and cognitive psychosocial change and identify Case (most improved) and Control (least improved) cohorts of individuals. Considering responses from peers as treatments, we evaluate the differences in the responses received by Case and Control, per matched clusters of similar individuals. We find that effective support includes complex language factors such as diversity, adaptability, and style, but simple indicators such as quantity and immediacy are not causally relevant. Our work bears methodological and design implications for online mental health platforms, and has the potential to guide suggestive interventions for peer supporters on these platforms.

Does Assessment Method Matter in Detecting Mental Health Distress among Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Israeli Women with Breast Cancer?

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-109
Author(s):  
Ora Nakash ◽  
Leeat Granek ◽  
Michal Cohen ◽  
Gil Bar-Sela ◽  
David Geffen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Structured Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Mental Health Distress

Abstract Authors examined differences in assessment method (structured diagnostic interview versus self-report questionnaire) between ethnic groups in the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders among women with breast cancer. A convenience sample of 88 Mizrahi (Jews of Middle Eastern/North African descent, n = 42) and Ashkenazi (Jews of European/American descent, n = 46) women with breast cancer from oncology units in three health centers across Israel participated in the study. Participants were within eight months of diagnosis. Participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and a structured diagnostic interview, the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Approximately one-third (31.8 percent, n = 28) of participants were diagnosed with at least one mood or anxiety disorder based on the MINI. Significantly more Mizrahi participants (42.9 percent) were diagnosed with at least one mood or anxiety disorder, compared with their Ashkenazi counterparts (21.7 percent). Mean score on HADS was below the optimal cutoff score (≥13) among all participants, with no significant difference in mean score for emotional distress based on HADS between the two ethnic groups. The findings highlight the role of measurement variance in assessing mental health distress among women with breast cancer in general and among ethnic and racial minorities in particular.

scholarly journals Exploring nurses’ experiences of psychological distress during care of patients with COVID-19: a qualitative study

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasrin Galehdar ◽  
Aziz Kamran ◽  
Tahereh Toulabi ◽  
Heshmatolah Heydari
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Phone Call ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Purposeful Sampling ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
The Family ◽  
Mental Health Distress ◽  
Delivering Bad News

Abstract Background COVID-19 infection is a new disease that infects a large number of people, killing a ratio of whom every day in the world. Healthcare staff, especially nurses, experience a great deal of psychological distress during care of COVID-19 patients. Detecting factors that disturb nurses’ mental health during care of these patients can help to reduce their psychological distress. Therefore, this study aimed to explore nurses’ experiences of psychological distress during care of patients with COVID-19. Methods The present qualitative research was performed using the conventional content analysis method in Iran from March to May 2020. Participants in this study included the nurses caring for patients with COVID-19, and they were selected based on the purposeful sampling method. The data was collected through 20 phone call interviews and analyzed based on the method proposed by Lundman and Graneheim. Results Qualitative data analysis revealed 11 categories including death anxiety, anxiety due to the nature of the disease, anxiety caused by corpse burial, fear of infecting the family, distress about time wasting, emotional distress of delivering bad news, fear of being contaminated, the emergence of obsessive thoughts, the bad feeling of wearing personal protective equipment, conflict between fear and conscience, and the public ignorance of preventive measures. Conclusion The data showed that the nurses experienced a variety of psychological distress during care of patients with COVID-19. Through proper planning by authorities, it is possible to manage the risk factors of mental health distress in nurses and improve their mental health status.

The Relationship between Death Anxiety and Mental Health/Distress

1991 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
William White ◽  
Paul J. Handal
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
The Other ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
High Death ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Mental Health Distress ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Interpretation Of Results

This study systematically examined the relationship between death anxiety and mental health/distress and controlled for methodological problems present in the literature. Specifically, two measures of death anxiety were used-both had recommended cut-off scores for high death anxiety. Both positive and negative aspects of adjustment were assessed, and a valid clinically meaningful cut-off score for distress was employed. Results revealed high death-anxious females were statistically and clinically more distressed and were significantly less satisfied with life than low death-anxious females. Similar results were obtained for males on one death-anxiety measure; a similar trend was found on the other measure. Discussion focuses on the interpretation of results.

Oncologists’ Treatment Responses to Mental Health Distress in Their Cancer Patients

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1735-1745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leeat Granek ◽  
Ora Nakash ◽  
Merav Ben-David ◽  
Shahar Shapira ◽  
Samuel Ariad
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Grounded Theory Method ◽  
Health Distress ◽  
Included Patient ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Mental Health Distress

The objectives of this study were to identify how oncologists respond to mental health distress in their patients, what specific strategies they use in treating this distress, and what barriers they report responding to their patients’ emotional distress. Twenty-three oncologists at two cancer centers were interviewed. The grounded theory method of data collection and analysis was used. Oncologists varied in their response to patients’ emotional distress. Strategies used in responding to patients’ distress included creating supportive relationships and prescribing medications, while barriers included patient reluctance, a lack of protocol on how to respond to patients, limited psychosocial resources, and a lack of time. Developing and adopting clear guidelines to addressing mental health distress among cancer patients is critical in assuring quality care for the whole patient and reduce the risk for poor quality of life and potential disease-related morbidity and mortality.

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