Psychiatric Care Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

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The Coronavirus pandemic is a phenomenal event in human history because it led to unprecedented suffering and unimaginable setbacks due to its associated challenges. However, the pandemic altered how the human race perceives disease, resulting in the innovation and adoption of advanced solutions to handle many disease cases and cater to patient issues while maximizing efficiency. Although most healthcare institutions have maximized their bed capacities and reinforced personnel to address individuals’ problems, most of these improvements are set to mitigate the impact of the virus. On the other hand, other issues like chronic illnesses and mental health service delivery are neglected because they lack urgency. Thus, this essay examines the body of literature on psychiatric care amidst the Covid-19 pandemic to assess the state of mental healthcare service delivery.

Initially, the Coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc in several industries and sectors, including healthcare. Research by Jung & Jun (2020) suggests that the Coronavirus contributed to increased mental health conditions due to aggravated stress and anxiety. Immediately after news spread about the outbreak of the virus, most people in Korea felt like there was no safe place to go or hide, thus interfering with their comfort levels by increasing anxiety. Similarly, the researchers suggest that isolation and quarantine are associated with depression, acute stress disorder, insomnia, post-traumatic disorder, emotional exhaustion, anger, and irritability. However, several other psychological barriers prevent individuals from sustaining a healthy mindset and good mental health.

The main factors interfering with health-seeking behaviors and psychiatric care during the coronavirus period are fake news, the breakdown of social support systems, and discrimination due to the fear of contracting the virus. When individuals receive fake news, it distorts accurate information, leading to the spread of propaganda and made-up ideas (Jung & Jun, 2020). Hence, the people who receive distorted news experience a sense of self helplessness. Additionally, the disruption of social support structures is another issue that has interfered with psychiatric care offered at the community level. Most individuals cannot access churches, workplaces, and schools, allowing them to feel vulnerable and isolated. Finally, stigmatization due to the fear of contracting the virus prevents individuals from visiting healthcare institutions.

The Coronavirus pandemic interfered with mental healthcare service delivery by affecting the capacity of nurse practitioners in delivering tailored mental healthcare to needy patients. Immediately after the outbreak of the virus, first-line healthcare respondents were exposed to a higher risk of being infected because of constantly interacting with infected patients (Ashcroft et al., 2021). Moreover, researchers did not understand the scope of the disease at the time, resulting in several issues in dealing with patients effectively. The WHO estimates that about 80,000 to 180,000 health workers were affected with Covid-19 during the first two years. Subsequently, the pandemic has led to the loss of several lives of front-line workers, thus diminishing their motivation.

The Coronavirus pandemic also increased the suffering and mental health issues of individuals who previously suffered from acute diseases. For example, research by Smith et al. examined the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on anxiety and depression among individuals with cystic fibrosis, including how the pandemic affected the rates of mental health screening among these patients and the types of services provided (Smith et al., 2021). Similarly, mental health issues among these individuals increased drastically due to limited access to mental health services and facilities.

However, the negative impact of Covid-19 on these patients was short-lived because most mental health institutions altered their standard appointment approaches by eliminating in-person visits to individuals experiencing severe symptoms and emergencies. Instead, they adopted technological solutions like telehealth to provide regular services to these individuals. Subsequently, health technologies have allowed mental health institutions to continue offering services to these individuals and cater to their mental health needs (Smith et al., 2021). Therefore, although the number of screenings reduced significantly, individuals suffering from cystic fibrosis enjoyed access to improved mental healthcare, coordinated referrals, and behavioral health interventions by keeping in touch with mental health service providers.

The rapid adoption of telehealth solutions is one of the most significant developments in mental health service delivery because it alleviates all issues associated with face-to-face interactions. Unfortunately, these solutions also came with their fair share of challenges because they were unprecedented. Consequently, they resulted in setbacks in the effectiveness of service delivery in some areas because most practitioners were not familiar with their functionality and operation (Nicholas et al., 2021). Similarly, difficulties in managing and working with these systems have stalled their effective adoption. Most practitioners take courses and training programs to familiarize themselves with these systems and use them to achieve better health outcomes. However, these solutions have mitigated the impact of movement cessation and travel limitations on mental healthcare service delivery.

There are several challenges in adopting telehealth services to cater to individuals’ mental health issues because of economic disparities and the lack of resources. Nicholas et al. (2021) reveal that individuals facing financial difficulties may not access computer devices and associated facilities to aid interaction with practitioners. Similarly, some medical institutions persevere through dealing with limited resources. Therefore, they do not have sufficient telehealth infrastructure to support mental health service delivery and the delivery of other healthcare services to patients. Moreover, telehealth services depend on the interoperability of several computer devices and peripheries. Thus, getting mentally challenged individuals to use these devices effectively can be difficult, depending on the severity of their condition.

Despite facing challenges, policy-makers in the healthcare scene are focused on strengthening mental healthcare frameworks in institutions and developing policies that address the needs of vulnerable groups. Researchers suggest that in addition to widely adopting telehealth solutions to address mental health issues amid Covid-19 service provision, these institutions should also focus on advancing equitable mental health service provision by adopting evidence-based community care models (Kopelovich et al., 2021). Moreover, it is crucial to train staff on using these systems and addressing the changing mental health needs among populations. Subsequently, researchers should link their findings with other data sources to ensure that they support evidence-based approaches towards addressing mental health needs.

The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted several business and industrial sectors. However, the healthcare sector has suffered more challenges because the public trusts health institutions for quality service delivery. In the process, critical issues like mental health have been neglected. Nonetheless, increased cases and cessation of movement pushed practitioners to adopt solutions like telehealth to enhance service provision. Although technological solutions have substantially improved mental health service delivery, it also has challenges since the changes were abrupt and unprecedented. Nonetheless, researchers anticipate more improvements since the changes have realized notable success.

References

Ashcroft, R., Donnelly, C., Dancey, M., Gill, S., Lam, S., Kourgiantakis, T.,… & Brown, J. B. (2021). Primary care teams’ experiences of delivering mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. BMC Family Practice, 22(1), 1-12.

Jung, S. J., & Jun, J. Y. (2020). Mental health and psychological intervention amid COVID-19 outbreak: Perspectives from South Korea. Yonsei Medical Journal, 61(4), 271-272.

Kopelovich, S. L., Monroe-DeVita, M., Buck, B. E., Brenner, C., Moser, L., Jarskog, L. F.,… & Chwastiak, L. A. (2021). Community mental health care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic: Practical strategies for improving care for people with serious mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal, 57(3), 405-415.

Nicholas, J., Bell, I. H., Thompson, A., Valentine, L., Simsir, P., Sheppard, H., & Adams, S. (2021). Implementation lessons from the transition to telehealth during COVID-19: A survey of clinicians and young people from youth mental health services. Psychiatry Research, 299, 113848.

Smith, B. A., Georgiopoulos, A. M., Mueller, A., Abbott, J., Lomas, P., Aliaj, E., & Quittner, A. L. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: Effects on screening, care delivery, and people with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, 20, 31-38.

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Psychiatric Care Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

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