key: cord-0859571-pgplof0q
authors: García Valencia, Jenny
title: Mental health research during the COVID-19 pandemic
date: 2020-11-14
journal: nan
DOI: 10.1016/j.rcpeng.2020.11.001
sha: 5168bb0219c4a7ab638b2701ccaf95c38a0717ea
doc_id: 859571
cord_uid: pgplof0q

nan

Email: jenny.garcia@udea.edu.co

In epidemics of potentially fatal infectious diseases, an increased risk of mental disorders, especially anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders, has been observed in those infected, their families and the health personnel caring for them.(1) However, the current COVID-19 pandemic has certain peculiarities that are unprecedented. Among these particularities are: the risk of infection by asymptomatic people; the wide variability in the severity of the symptoms of those infected; and the social distancing measures implemented in almost all the countries of the world that have had a long duration and that have led both to economic problems and to changes in our way of working, receiving education, living together as a family and interacting with others. All this means that the real consequences for mental health are not predictable and that there is a very great need to investigate the subject from various perspectives. shown a relationship between face-to-face care and diagnostic reliability and user satisfaction, but it is a field in which there is much to be investigated, such as its effectiveness, the conditions for the care of patients with cognitive impairment, visual or hearing difficulties, as well as the management of emergency conditions, among others. (8) In addition, there is the potential to use novel mental telehealth strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation that could contribute to improving morbidity from mental problems even in places where there is an insufficient number of psychiatrists. (9) Another topic that has been considered a research priority is that of the consequences of COVID-19 infection on the mental health of those who have been infected --both in terms of the psychological consequences of contagion and the short and long-term neurological disorders that can occur as a result of the disease. (10, 11) It has been thought that the prognosis of mental disorders may be affected and that suicide rates may increase. (12) Additionally, the need to monitor children whose mothers were infected during pregnancy has been proposed for possible long-term effects such as those that have been described for other viral diseases. (3) The above are just some examples of the issues that have been raised within the research agendas for the pandemic. Undoubtedly, many have been left out and it is an opportunity to create knowledge that can be used in the future for similar situations and to evaluate new forms of care that could continue to be used even when this contingency is over. 

Psychiatry of pandemics. A mental health response to infection outbreak

Research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

The scope of mental health research during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath

Psychological effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in health professionals: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Prevalence of depression during the COVID-19 outbreak: A meta-analysis of community-based studies

Staying Connected In The COVID-19 Pandemic: Telehealth At The Largest Safety-Net System In The United States

Barriers to Use of Telepsychiatry: Clinicians as Gatekeepers

The Use of Telepsychiatry During COVID-19 and Beyond

Impact of human disasters and Covid-19 pandemic on mental health: Potential of digital psychiatry

COVID-19: ICU delirium management during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic -Pharmacological considerations

Patients with mental health disorders in the COVID-19 epidemic. The Lancet Psychiatry

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates