Perspectives of patients, family members, health professionals and the public on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health

Gardiner, Evangeline; Baumgart, Amanda; Tong, Allison; Elliott, Julian H.; Azevedo, Luciano Cesar; Bersten, Andrew; Cervantes, Lilia; Chew, Derek P.; Cho, Yeoungjee; Crowe, Sally; Douglas, Ivor S.; Evangelidis, Nicole; Flemyng, Ella; Horby, Peter; Howell, Martin; Lee, Jaehee; Lorca, Eduardo; Lynch, Deena; Marshall, John C.; Gonzalez, Andrea Matus; McKenzie, Anne; Manera, Karine; Mehta, Sangeeta; Mer, Mervyn; Morris, Andrew Conway; Nseir, Saad; Povoa, Pedro; Reid, Mark; Sakr, Yasser; Shen, Ning; Smyth, Alan R.; Snelling, Tom; Strippoli, Giovanni F. M; Teixeira-Pinto, Armando; Torres, Antoni; Viecelli, Andrea K.; Webb, Steve; Williamson, Paula R.; Woc-Colburn, Laila; Zhang, Junhua; Craig, Jonathan C.

Abstract

Background
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has seen a global surge in anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and stress.

Aims
This study aimed to describe the perspectives of patients with COVID-19, their family, health professionals, and the general public on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health.

Methods
A secondary thematic analysis was conducted using data from the COVID-19 COS project. We extracted data on the perceived causes and impact of COVID-19 on mental health from an international survey and seven online consensus workshops.

Results
We identified four themes (with subthemes in parenthesis): anxiety amidst uncertainty (always on high alert, ebb and flow of recovery); anguish of a threatened future (intense frustration of a changed normality, facing loss of livelihood, trauma of ventilation, a troubling prognosis, confronting death); bearing responsibility for transmission (fear of spreading COVID-19 in public; overwhelming guilt of infecting a loved one); and suffering in isolation (severe solitude of quarantine, sick and alone, separation exacerbating grief).

Conclusion
We found that the unpredictability of COVID-19, the fear of long-term health consequences, burden of guilt, and suffering in isolation profoundly impacted mental health. Clinical and public health interventions are needed to manage the psychological consequences arising from this pandemic.

Citation

Gardiner, E., Baumgart, A., Tong, A., Elliott, J. H., Azevedo, L. C., Bersten, A., …Craig, J. C. (2022). Perspectives of patients, family members, health professionals and the public on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health. Journal of Mental Health, 31(4), 524-533. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2021.2022637

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 6, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jan 4, 2022
• Publication Date: Jan 4, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jan 30, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 5, 2023
• Journal: Journal of Mental Health
• Print ISSN: 0963-8237
• Electronic ISSN: 1360-0567
• Publisher: Informa UK Limited
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 524-533
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2021.2022637
• Keywords: Psychiatry and Mental health; General Medicine
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7356727
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638237.2021.2022637
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=ijmh20; Received: 2021-03-23; Revised: 2021-11-24; Accepted: 2021-12-06; Published: 2022-01-04