ABSTRACT
Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic arrived at the United States, mental health services moved towards using tele-mental health to provide care. A survey about resilience and tele-mental health was developed and conducted with ForLikeMinds' members and followers. Correlational analysis was used to examine relationships between quantitative variables. A phenomenological approach was used to analyze open questions responses. Sixteen percent of participants were coping well with the pandemic; 50% were coping okay; and 34% said that they were coping poorly. Three main themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: accessibility to care; self-care strategies; and community support and relationship. The responses from participants seems to reflect the combination of two main factors-the challenges they were facing in accessing care through tele-mental health plus the mental health consequences from COVID-19. This survey reflects the importance of building innovative strategies to create a working alliance with people who need care through tele-mental health.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Health Services Accessibility , Mental Disorders/therapy , Mental Health/statistics & numerical data , Resilience, Psychological , Social Isolation , Telemedicine/statistics & numerical data , Adult , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/psychology , Mental Health Services/organization & administration , Pandemics/prevention & control , Qualitative Research , SARS-CoV-2 , Self Care , Social Support , Surveys and Questionnaires , Telemedicine/methods , Telemedicine/organization & administrationABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been recognized as causing a wide variety of behavioral health problems. Society must mitigate this impact by recognizing that COVID-19 can trigger people's fears of exacerbating an existing mental illness. A survey about COVID-19 for people with mental illness was developed. METHODS: Two hundred fourteen people responded to the survey, of whom 193 self-identified as living with a mental illness. RESULTS: Almost all participants living with a mental illness (98%) said they had at least one major concern regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and 62% said they had at least three major concerns. CONCLUSIONS: People living with a mental illness are very concerned about disruption of services, running out of medication, and social isolation during this pandemic. Providers and mental health services could address these fears by connecting with people living with mental illness through text messaging and social media.