Depression and Anxiety in Adolescents and their Caregivers: A Cross-Sectional Study from North Macedonia.

Introduction: Mental health problems have increased internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adolescents and their caregivers form a vulnerable group for the development of mental health problems. However, most data stems from high-income countries, and there is a clear lack of prevalence rates and potential risk factors from Balkan countries. No data is available on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in adolescents and their caregivers in North Macedonia. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on adolescents and their caregivers in a school setting in rural and urban areas of North Macedonia. Survey items assessed symptoms of depression, anxiety, and respondents' fear of COVID-19, as well as a number of risk factors, such as gender and living environment. Results: 506 adolescents and 492 caregivers completed the survey. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were mild to moderate in adolescents and their caregivers. Women and girls generally scored higher than men and boys, and adolescents in high school scored higher than those in elementary school. Prevalence rates for depression were 29.2% for adolescents and 10.4% for caregivers, while rates of anxiety were 23.7% for adolescents and 6.1% for caregivers. Conclusion: This study provides a first insight into the mental health of adolescents and their caregivers after the COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia. Further research is required to investigate the relatively low rates of caregivers' mental health problems compared to data from other countries.

Patient Satisfaction with Use of Telemedicine in University Clinic of Psychiatry: Skopje, North Macedonia During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: There is increasing interest in the use of telemedicine as a means of health care delivery especially in circumstances of pandemics. This is partly because technological advances have made the equipment less expensive and simpler to use and partly because increasing health care costs and patient expectations have increased the need to find alternative modes of health care delivery. Introduction: Telemedicine and telepsychiatry, in particular, are rapidly becoming important delivery approaches to providing clinical care and information to patients in cases wherein the medical resources and the patients are very hard to be brought together with respect to rules of behavior in case of epidemics. The reliance on technology to bridge the obstacles between the patients (consumers) and medical resources (providers) can create problems that impact service delivery and outcomes, but in cases such as this (COVID-19 pandemics), this is virtually the only tool for providing clinical care and information to patients. Materials and Methods: A client satisfaction survey was undertaken in a daily hospital (a part of University Clinic of Psychiatry in Skopje). The anonymous modified self-report questionnaire (short form patient satisfaction questionnaire [PSQ-18]) covering demographic, gender, and age variables was endorsed by 28 participants. The mean age of the subjects was 40.25 ± 22 years, with a small majority of men (18 participants) versus women (11 participants). Results: Overall satisfaction with psychiatric care was high (80.22%). None of the demographic or other variables correlated significantly with satisfaction. Discussion: We had to reduce rate and time length of our face-to-face contacts with patients as a result of pandemics but they were able to reach their doctors virtually at all times. Conclusions: Many mental health professionals are using widely available, commercial software downloaded from the internet to provide care directly to a patient's home.