Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 1V4, Canada.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
BMC Fam Pract. 2021 Jul 1;22(1):143. doi: 10.1186/s12875-021-01496-8.
Integrated primary care teams are ideally positioned to support the mental health care needs arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding how COVID-19 has affected mental health care delivery within primary care settings will be critical to inform future policy and practice decisions during the later phases of the pandemic and beyond. The objective of our study was to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care teams' delivery of mental health care.
A qualitative study using focus groups conducted with primary care teams in Ontario, Canada. Focus group data was analysed using thematic analysis.
We conducted 11 focus groups with 10 primary care teams and a total of 48 participants. With respect to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health care in primary care teams, we identified three key themes: i) the high demand for mental health care, ii) the rapid transformation to virtual care, and iii) the impact on providers.
From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care quickly responded to the rising mental health care demands of their patients. Despite the numerous challenges they faced with the rapid transition to virtual care, primary care teams have persevered. It is essential that policy and decision-makers take note of the toll that these demands have placed on providers. There is an immediate need to enhance primary care's capacity for mental health care for the duration of the pandemic and beyond.
综合初级保健团队在支持 COVID-19 大流行期间出现的心理健康护理需求方面具有得天独厚的优势。了解 COVID-19 如何影响初级保健环境中的心理健康护理提供，对于在大流行后期及以后的阶段为未来的政策和实践决策提供信息将是至关重要的。我们研究的目的是描述 COVID-19 大流行对初级保健团队提供心理健康护理的影响。
这是一项在加拿大安大略省进行的使用焦点小组的定性研究。使用主题分析对焦点小组数据进行分析。
我们进行了 11 次焦点小组讨论，共有 10 个初级保健团队和 48 名参与者。关于 COVID-19 大流行对初级保健团队心理健康护理的影响，我们确定了三个关键主题：i）对心理健康护理的需求很高，ii）迅速向虚拟护理转变，以及 iii）对提供者的影响。
从 COVID-19 大流行开始，初级保健就迅速回应患者不断增长的心理健康护理需求。尽管他们在向虚拟护理快速过渡方面面临诸多挑战，但初级保健团队还是坚持了下来。政策制定者和决策者必须注意到这些需求对提供者造成的影响。在大流行期间及以后，迫切需要增强初级保健的心理健康护理能力。
