Buffering effect of in-patient psychiatric care on the link between fear of covid-19 and mental health consequences

Yuval Bloch, Sharon Shemesh, Ariella Grossman-Giron, Hagai Maoz, Erica Cohenmehr, Libi Hertzberg, Uri Nitzan, Dana Tzur Bitan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background& aimes: Psychiatric admissions during the covid-19 pandemic were limited, overlooking their possible benefit. This study focused on assessing the effect of the fear of covid on the mental health and well-being of inpatients as opposed to outpatients. Methods: During the first lockdown, forty-four inpatients and day care patients (inpatient group) and 74 outpatients (outpatient group) were recruited after an informed consent procedure. Fear of the infection was assessed using the Fear of COVID-19 (FCV–19S); severity of mental health symptomatology was evaluated with the outcome questionnaire-45 (OQ-45); wellbeing was assessed with the Psychological well-being scale (PWB). Outcomes: There was no difference between the inpatient group and outpatient group in their fear of COVID-19 levels. FCV-19 predicted changes in the outpatient OQ total score (B ​= ​2.21, p ​< 0.001), OQ interpersonal relation subscale (B ​= ​0.34, p ​= 0.01), PWB total score (B ​= ​−0.05, p ​< 0.001), PWB environmental mastery subscale (B ​= ​−0.07, p ​< 0.001) and PWB positive relation subscale (B ​= ​−0.05, p ​< 0.001), but not in the inpatient group. Conclusions: Mental health and wellbeing of the outpatient group, which had less therapeutic contact than the inpatient group, correlated with the fear of covid, supporting the hypothesis that intensive psychiatric therapy had a protective effect on the mental health consequences of “fear of covid”.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100027
JournalPsychiatry Research Communications
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

Keywords

  • Covid-19
  • Inpatient treatment
  • Outcome studies
  • Outpatient treatment
  • Psychiatric patients

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Biological Psychiatry

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