Current Curricular Trends After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey of Psychiatry Residency Programs.

OBJECTIVES: With the COVID-19 pandemic, psychiatry residencies (academic, community, and hybrid) have adopted different learning modalities to preserve a high quality of educational training. There is minimal data on specific program adaptations, related change perspectives, and program type stratification. This study aims to analyze trends in curriculum changes in accredited psychiatry residency programs in the United States. METHODS: Program directors of accredited general psychiatry programs in the United States were surveyed to assess both general program details and changes in educational content, delivery, and perspectives of their respective program curricula. Data was analyzed with SPSS with 0.05 significance level. RESULTS: A total of 63 program directors of 264 eligible programs were included (23.9%). We observed a dramatic shift to integrate virtual learning post-pandemic (98.5%) compared to pre-pandemic (3%). However, there was no association between these modality changes and program type [P = 0.1343]. Furthermore, changes were noted in respect to didactic content (60%), decreased rotation sites (38%), and increased telemedicine exposure (84%) with no change of wellness days (67%) or protected time (97%) and above changes had no association with program type. Interestingly, we found the use of virtual educational platforms was described as positive (59.7%) with 9 programs noting a future transition to a hybrid learning model for didactics and grand rounds. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that pandemic-related curriculum adaptations infiltrated all different types of psychiatry residencies and suggest a national trend to continue virtual platform integration into psychiatry didactics. However, future investigation of virtual learning outcomes are warranted.

Insomnia mediates the effect of perceived stress on emotional symptoms during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

The outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has significant effects on stress, emotion and sleep in the general public. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived stress and emotional symptoms during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in China and to further determine whether insomnia could serve as a mediator in this relationship. A total of 1178 ordinary citizens living in mainland China conducted anonymous online surveys. The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale, the Insomnia Severity Index, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale were used to estimate perceived stress, insomnia, depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Of the 1171 valid respondents from 132 cities in China, 46.6 % and 33.0 % showed symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively. Perceived stress and insomnia independently predicted the prevalence of emotional symptoms and were positively correlated with the severity of these emotional symptoms. The mediation analyses further revealed a partial mediation effect of insomnia on the relationship between perceived stress and emotional symptoms during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Our findings can be used to formulate early psychological interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups, specifically those with insomnia, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Association of Drug-Use Characteristics and Active Coping Styles With Positive Affect in Patients With Heroin-Use Disorder and Methamphetamine-Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Positive affect (PA) is crucial for individuals to cope with the current pandemic and buffer the lingering fears after it, especially for patients with substance-use disorders (SUDs). The current study aimed to explore PA and its related factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in male patients with the heroin-use disorder (HUD) and patients with the methamphetamine-use disorder (MAUD), respectively. Methods: A total of 325 male patients with SUDs (106 with HUD and 219 with MAUD, all were single-substance users) in a compulsory rehabilitation center underwent semi-structured interviews during the pandemic. The demographic information, drug-use characteristics, active coping styles (ACSs, by Simple Coping Style Questionnaire), and PA (by the Positive and Negative Affect Scale) of participants were collected and recorded. Results: There were significant differences between the two groups in age, the proportion of full-time workers before the epidemic, duration of drug use, the proportion of patients with long-term withdrawal during the epidemic, cravings, ACS, and PA. Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis showed that duration of drug use, ACS, and stable jobs were significant predictive factors for PA in patients with HUD, while long-term withdrawal, ACS, and stable jobs during the epidemic were significant predictive factors for PA in patients with MAUD. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated the factors for PA in patients with HUD and MAUD during the pandemic. The results provided a basis for the comprehensive understanding of the PA of patients with SUDs and the development of targeted treatments.

Factors of Negative Affect in Elderly Patients With Substance Use Disorders During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become the greatest public health emergency and has attracted global attention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the negative affect (NA) of elderly patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) has also become a more serious public concern. The current study aims to clarify the NA and its influencing factors in elderly patients with SUDs during the pandemic. Methods: Two psychiatrists conducted semi-structured interviews with 77 SUD patients aged above 50 years to collect their demographical information and certain drug use characteristics. Barratt Impulse Scale and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale were used to obtain information about patients' self-reported impulsivity and NA. Results: Univariate linear regression analysis showed that NA was positively correlated with the frequency of drug use, type of SUDs, cravings during COVID-19, and impulsivity. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that being female, higher frequency of drug use, stronger cravings, and greater impulsiveness jointly accounted for the variation of NA in elderly patients with SUDs. Conclusions: This study confirmed that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, gender, frequency of drug use, cravings, and impulsivity were associated with NA in elderly patients with SUDs. This study provided a theoretical basis for clinicians to reduce the patients' NA.