key: cord-0767423-ysa0cijl
authors: Maguire, Paul A.; Reay, Rebecca E.; Looi, Jeffrey C.L.
title: Information-seeking on pandemic health threats for persons with schizophrenia
date: 2022-04-03
journal: Australas Psychiatry
DOI: 10.1177/10398562211052913
sha: 568e9a4664d03955820bc71b5ee8d8816faaff6e
doc_id: 767423
cord_uid: ysa0cijl

nan

Information-seeking on pandemic health threats for persons with schizophrenia Dear Sir, With the recent bushfires and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian community has been subjected to serious threats. Repeated waves of widespread SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks have been described as the biggest threat of the 21st Century, heightened by the recent emergence of the highly infectious Delta variant. 1 Therefore, it is useful to explore factors which may influence how people deal with health threats, including innate levels of optimism, cognitive style and access to a support person (https://www. blackdoginstitute.org.au/news/10-tipsfor-managing-anxiety-during-covid-19/). We explored these issues in patients with schizophrenia, and general practice attendees, as part of a larger study on risk perception during the 2009 swine influenza pandemic. 2 We are not aware of a similar study during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The sample included 48 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (Scz) recruited from inpatient and community health care settings in the Australian Capital Territory, matched (age, gender, and employment status) with a sample of 48 patients from general practice (GP) settings without a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The mean age in both groups was 35 (SD =11; range = 19-65). Each group comprised 27 males. This study was ethically approved.

There were no statistically significant differences between the Scz and GP groups for: optimism; having a support person to turn to; and having a tendency to avoiding thinking about threats when faced with them (Table 1) . However, there were significantly fewer people with schizophrenia who reported seeking more information when faced with, and in order to deal with, a threat, compared with the GP group.

One in five people in both groups reported feeling optimistic none or only a little of the time. However, 61% of the people in the GP group saw themselves as being optimistic all or a lot of the time compared with only about 42% of people in the schizophrenia group. Approximately one in three responders in each group viewed themselves as having a tendency to push aside thoughts about new health threats confronting them. Only 58.7% of people with schizophrenia reported seeking to gather more information about a new health threat in order to work out the best way to deal with it, compared with 78.3% in the GP group. The majority (80%) of people in both groups reported having access to a support person some, a lot, or all of the time.

People with schizophrenia, already at greater risk from SARS-CoV-2 due to comorbidity, might benefit from encouragement and/or assistance from their psychiatrist, GP, and carers to seek information and advice on how to deal with new health threats. This should include guidance related to public health messaging, including vaccination hesitancy, related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors gratefully acknowledge funding provided by the Private Practice Fund, Canberra Hospital.

Paul A. Maguire  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5002-9918 Rebecca E. Reay  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9497-5842 Jeffrey C.L. Looi  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3351-6911 Challenging flowers Dear Sir,

Walking past the neighbour's garden, I noticed two Shasta daisies on the same bush (Leucanthemum x Graptopetalum pentandrum "Superbum") -'Leu' being derived from the Greek word for white ( Figure 1 ). One was white and the other pink/violet. I was puzzledthese blooms shared genes and environment (the major determinants of biological development)so how could they be different colours? I asked a keen gardener and ultimately the Royal Botanical Gardens. They could not give a convincing explanation, and I felt the rub of disconnection. Then, I remembered a pair of identical twins I had known, discordant for schizophrenia, and felt the hug of collegiality.

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Subsequent discussions with the community treating team confirmed his intermittent use of methamphetamine and alcohol (22 standard drinks in a week) and daily use of cannabis and nicotine. He agreed to cease substance use particularly because of the increased anaesthetic risk, and he remained mentally stable for 4 months. His Propofol requirements subsequently increased on four different occasions, and later he withdrew consent to further ECTs. After a further 2 months, he required an inpatient admission because of worsening of mental state when ECT was recommenced with good response.

Saxby

Our patient needed higher doses of Propofol because of substance misuse. Despite knowing the potential risk of adverse interactions, this patient had difficulties in maintaining abstinence from substance misuse while on ECT. In terms of medical risks during ECT, acute 

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