Afectaciones de la salud mental relacionadas con la COVID-19 / Mental Health Conditions Related to COVID-19

Introducción: La pandemia de COVID-19 ha creado una situación de crisis que requiere un enfrentamiento a los efectos directos del virus y otros problemas de salud relacionados por el temor al contagio, y a las medidas de confinamiento que repercuten en la salud mental. Objetivo: Describir afectaciones de la salud mental relacionadas con la COVID-19. Métodos: Se efectuó una revisión bibliográfica documental, mediante búsquedas electrónicas en las bases de datos científicas MEDLINE, Pubmed, EBsCO y Scielo. Se utilizaron como palabras clave: pandemia COVID-19; salud mental y COVID; cuarentena; impacto psicológico de la COVID-19 y su equivalente en inglés. Se consideraron comunicaciones oficiales de organismos internacionales, regionales y nacionales. Como resultado de la búsqueda se analizaron 44 artículos científicos que cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. El período de estudio estuvo comprendido entre septiembre del 2020 y febrero del 2021, en La Habana, Cuba. Conclusiones: La pandemia COVID-19 ha provocado un impacto negativo en la salud mental. Los síntomas más frecuentes desde el punto de vista de la salud mental han sido: depresión, ansiedad irritabilidad, insomnio, ira, agotamiento emocional y pánico. Se observó trastorno de estrés postraumático. El análisis y conocimiento de los resultados expuestos en esta revisión pueden ser útiles para la valoración de medidas que contribuyan a mitigar los trastornos emocionales en la población y prestarles atención especial a las afectaciones en la salud mental en grupos vulnerables, particularmente al personal de salud(AU)

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis situation that requires coping with the direct effects of the virus and other related health problems due to fear of contagion, and confinement measures that impact mental health. Objective: To describe mental health effects related to COVID-19. Methods: A documentary literature review was carried out by means of electronic searches in the scientific databases MEDLINE, PubMed, Ebsco and SciELO. Key words used were: COVID-19 pandemic; mental health and COVID; quarantine; psychological impact of COVID-19 and its English equivalent. Official communications from international, regional and national agencies were considered. As a result of the search, 44 scientific articles that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. The study period was between September 2020 and February 2021, in Havana, Cuba. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on mental health. The most frequent symptoms from the mental health point of view have been: depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, anger, emotional exhaustion and panic. Post-traumatic stress disorder was observed. The analysis and knowledge of the results presented in this review may be useful for the assessment of measures that contribute to mitigate emotional disorders in the population and pay special attention to mental health effects in vulnerable groups, particularly health personnel(AU)

The Role Played by Public Universities in Mitigating the Coronavirus Catastrophe in Brazil: Solidarity, Research and Support to Local Governments Facing the Health Crisis.

This study aims to assess the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil and how it has been dealt with by both the government and in civil society. To this end, we examine the Brazilian public health system and the measures taken by the Bolsonaro Government that led to Brazil being ranked second in overall Covid-19 infections in the world through August 2020. In the absence of national leadership facing the Covid-19 health crisis, we list a set of science-based initiatives promoted by Brazilian public universities in connection with local governments, NGOs and communities as a means of mitigating the consequences and spread of the pandemic. This study is based on the consultation of institutional material published by universities summarizing their research and outreach initiatives. Results reveal that university initiatives included: 1) Alerts to society on the risks of the pandemic, with an emphasis on establishing observatories that assisted local governments and civil society in understanding the evolution of the disease, as well as in implementing measures for its prevention; 2) Direct assistance to local communities, with emphases on the addition of beds in university hospitals for treating patients with Covid-19 and on the manufacturing of personal protective equipment and; 3) Research to find solutions to prevent and treat the disease, with emphases on the development of tests for Covid-19, as well as on carrying out phase 3 vaccine trials. Through these measures, Brazilian public Federal Universities played a key role in supporting both civil society and local governments in mitigating the impacts of the pandemic.