Urgent Psychiatric Consultations at Mental Health Center during COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Observational Study
| Autor: | Paola Ferri, Donatella Marrama, Patrizia Falcone, Alessandra Bruno, Gianluca Fiore, Rosaria Di Lorenzo, Margherita Pinelli, Davide Bertani, Fabrizio Starace |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak medicine.medical_specialty Mental Health Center Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Ambulatory Care Facilities Pandemic Humans Medicine Psychiatry Pandemics Referral and Consultation Retrospective Studies Coronavirus pandemic Original Paper Urgent psychiatric consultations Emergency Services Psychiatric business.industry Mental Disorders Social distance Public health COVID-19 Outbreak Retrospective cohort study Middle Aged Mental health Psychiatry and Mental health Italy Coronavirus pandemic COVID-19 Mental Health Center Urgent psychiatric consultations Female business |
| Zdroj: | The Psychiatric Quarterly |
| ISSN: | 1573-6709 0033-2720 |
| Popis: | The coronavirus pandemic and related social distancing measures have brought about dramatic changes in people's lives. In particular, health workers have been forced to change their activities both for the different needs of patients and for preventive measures against the spread of the virus. This study is aimed at comparing the urgent psychiatric consultations (UPC) performed at the outpatient Mental Health Center (MHC) of Modena during the coronavirus outbreak period, from 1 March to 31 August 2020, with the same period in 2019. We retrospectively collected in a database the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who required UPC in the MHC during the 6-month observation periods in both 2019 and 2020. Data were statistically analyzed. We analyzed 656 urgent psychiatric consultations in 2019 and 811 in 2020, requested by 425 patients in 2019 and 488 in 2020, respectively. In the pandemic period, we observed an increase in the total and daily number of UPC which were more frequently required by patients in care at local outpatient services in comparison with the previous period. During 2020, an increased number of UPC was carried out remotely and the outcome was more frequently represented by discharge at home, avoiding hospitalization as much as possible. In the course of the coronavirus pandemic, MHC had to face an increased demand for clinical activity especially from the most clinically and socially vulnerable patients, who more frequently required UPC in outpatient psychiatric services. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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