Authors (including presenting author) :
Chong KSC(1), Tse MYY(1), Chan IWS(1), Chu MY(2), Lau MY(2), Ting WM(2), Chan JWM(2)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Clinical Psychology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, (2)Department of Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Introduction :
Studies during the SARS pandemic showed that people developed symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after their discharge from the hospital, and that the degree of psychological distress depended on multiple psychosocial variables. Similar to SARS patients, COVID-19 patients needed to be hospitalised and isolated. The illness experience and the psychological burden as a recovered person going back into the community might cause emotional distress to some patients.
Objectives :
This study aims to 1) investigate the prevalence of anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms in people recovering from COVID-19; 2) understand their psychological adjustment across time; and 3) explore factors that correlate with the symptom severity to enhance insight on clinical service.
Methodology :
Longitudinal data was collected through questionnaire survey distributed to patients during their 1-month and 3-month post-discharge follow-up at the COVID-19 out-patient clinic. The data included 1) participants’ reported anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms assessed by standardized measures included 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7); Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9); and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), 2) perceived self-stigma assessed by Self-Stigma Scale- Short Form (SSS-S) , 3) self-rated level of social support and illness experience, and 4) demographic information.
Paired sample t-tests were used to investigate the differences in severity of mood symptoms from 1 month to 3 months after discharge. Binomial logistic regression was used to investigate the association between mood disturbance and perceived self-stigma, social support and illness experience.
Result & Outcome :
1)At 1 month after discharge from hospitalization, 12.9% of the 101 participants (n=13) scored above cut-off on either one of the three scales assessing the depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms.
2)A significant decrease in the depression, anxiety and PTSD symptom severity was found from 1 month to 3 months after discharge.
3)Increasing perceived self-stigma was associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing mood disturbance after COVID-19 infection.
Conclusion:
Current study showed that majority of patients recovering from COVID-19 did not experience significant emotional distress, and their level of distress decreased across time after discharge.
This study also shed insight towards future service planning, suggesting to include measure of perceived self-stigma in mood screening for patient and take this construct into account for our treatment planning.
