Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Behavioral Health Consultation and Education, 8960 Brown Drive, Building 7 Room 5309, Bethesda, MD, 20889, USA.
Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2020 Oct 8;22(12):66. doi: 10.1007/s11920-020-01189-6.
The ability to effectively prepare for and respond to the psychological fallout from large-scale disasters is a core competency of military mental health providers, as well as civilian emergency response teams. Disaster planning should be situation specific and data driven; vague, broad-spectrum planning can contribute to unprepared mental health teams and underserved patient populations. Herein, we review data on mental health sequelae from the twenty-first century pandemics, including SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19), and offer explanations for observed trends, insights regarding anticipated needs, and recommendations for preliminary planning on how to best allocate limited mental health resources.
Anxiety and distress, often attributed to isolation, were the most prominent mental health complaints during previous pandemics and with COVID-19. Additionally, post-traumatic stress was surprisingly common and possibly more enduring than depression, insomnia, and alcohol misuse. Predictions regarding COVID-19's economic impact suggest that depression and suicide rates may increase over time. Available data suggest that the mental health sequelae of COVID-19 will mirror those of previous pandemics. Clinicians and mental health leaders should focus planning efforts on the negative effects of isolation, particularly anxiety and distress, as well as post-traumatic stress symptoms.
有效准备和应对大规模灾害带来的心理影响是军事心理健康提供者以及民用应急响应团队的核心能力。灾害规划应具体情况具体分析并基于数据驱动；模糊、广谱的规划可能导致心理健康团队准备不足和服务不足的患者群体。在此，我们回顾了二十一世纪大流行期间（包括 SARS-CoV2[COVID-19]）的心理健康后果数据，并对观察到的趋势进行了解释，对预期需求提供了深入了解，并就如何最佳分配有限的心理健康资源提出了初步规划建议。
焦虑和困扰，通常归因于隔离，是以前的大流行和 COVID-19 期间最突出的心理健康问题。此外，创伤后应激反应出人意料地常见，而且可能比抑郁、失眠和酗酒更持久。关于 COVID-19 对经济影响的预测表明，随着时间的推移，抑郁和自杀率可能会上升。现有数据表明，COVID-19 的心理健康后果将与以前的大流行相似。临床医生和心理健康领导者应将规划工作重点放在隔离的负面影响上，尤其是焦虑和困扰，以及创伤后应激症状上。
