Authors (including presenting author) :
Ting CM(1), Wong WS(1), Liu WS(1), Leung LT (1), Ng MT(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Clinical Psychology, Kowloon Hospital
Introduction :
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) not only burdens the healthcare system but also takes a toll on public mental health. Previous studies have found that infectious disease outbreaks, akin to major disasters, can be traumatizing for some individuals leading to the development of symptoms of PTSD. Meanwhile, most outpatient clinical psychology appointments in public hospitals have been postponed from mid-February to late-April 2020 in order to reduce the risk of cross-infection and to pool resources to combat the outbreak. To address the gap in service needs, tele-care service was therefore proposed and piloted in providing continued psychological support to the affected patients during this critical period.
Objectives :
(1) to examine the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on posttraumatic stress in patients with pre-existing psychiatric illness; (2) to evaluate the provision of tele-care service as a means to provide psychological support to patients during the suspension of outpatient clinical psychology service.
Methodology :
Subjects were psychiatric outpatients in Kowloon Hospital who were concurrently receiving clinical psychology services. Outcome measure was a 49-item self-report questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire (39 items) covered demographic data and questions that assessed patients’ psychological response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) were included in the questionnaire. The second part of the questionnaire (10 items) was an evaluation of the telecare service.
Result & Outcome :
From May 2020 to June 2020, A total of 193 participants were recruited and 72% were females. More than 45% of the respondents reported elevated posttraumatic stress. Rumination on concerns about the outbreak of COVID-19 and feeling of social isolation were predictors of the high level of posttraumatic stress. Hypervigilance to cues related to the pandemic was also associated with elevated posttraumatic stress. 93% of the respondents found tele-care service helpful for their mood and 97% of them were satisfied with the service. Further research is needed to understand the development and mechanism of traumatic stress reaction in people with pre-existing psychiatric illness, in response to a prolonged infectious disease outbreak. Clinical attention is also called to mitigate the psychiatric sequalae of the pandemic in this vulnerable group of people. Meanwhile, tele-care service appears to be an effective intervention for providing psychological support to patients during service suspension.
