Public Health England, East of England, UK; Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, UK.
Public Health England, East of England, UK.
Compr Psychiatry. 2022 Feb;113:152288. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152288. Epub 2021 Nov 24.
Previous research has mainly focused on the impacts of epidemics on those people who are directly affected by the epidemic infection, or of healthcare workers caring for them. Less is known about the impact on mental health of their relatives, and potential interventions to support them.
Systematic review and narrative synthesis.
28 studies were identified, sixteen quantitative and twelve qualitative. One involved health workers' relatives, and the rest covered relatives of directly affected individuals. We found considerable burden of mental ill-health in both groups. Among relatives of healthcare workers, 29.4% reported symptoms consistent with probable anxiety disorder and 33.7% with probable depression. Prevalence rates for probable anxiety disorder ranged from 24-42% and probable depression 17-51% for the relatives of affected people. One study found a 2% prevalence of PTSD and another found odds of PTSS were significantly higher among relatives of affected individuals compared with the general population. Only two intervention studies were identified and both were descriptive in nature.
Available evidence suggests relatives of people affected by infective outbreaks report mental ill-health. Having a relative who died particularly increased risk. Good outcomes for relatives of affected individuals were promoted by practical and social support, public health guidance that recognises the caring role of relatives, and being supported to see the positives as well as negatives in their situation. Good outcomes for relatives of health workers were promoted by perceived effectiveness of protective equipment. High quality evidence on potential interventions to support relatives is lacking.
No external funding sought.
先前的研究主要集中在传染病对直接受感染的患者或照顾他们的医护人员的影响上。对于传染病对其亲属的心理健康的影响以及潜在的干预措施以支持他们的研究较少。
系统评价和叙述性综合。
确定了 28 项研究，其中 16 项为定量研究，12 项为定性研究。其中一项涉及医护人员的亲属，其余的则涉及直接受影响个体的亲属。我们发现这两个群体都存在相当大的心理健康负担。在医护人员的亲属中，29.4％的人报告有疑似焦虑症的症状，33.7％的人有疑似抑郁症的症状。疑似焦虑症的患病率从 24％到 42％不等，而疑似抑郁症的患病率在受感染者亲属中为 17％至 51％。一项研究发现 PTSD 的患病率为 2％，另一项研究发现与普通人群相比，受感染者亲属的 PTSD 发生率明显更高。仅确定了两项干预研究，且均为描述性研究。
现有证据表明，受感染爆发影响的人的亲属报告存在心理健康问题。有亲属死亡会增加风险。为受感染者亲属提供实际和社会支持、认可亲属照顾角色的公共卫生指导以及支持他们看到自己处境中的积极和消极方面，有助于改善他们的预后。为医护人员亲属提供有效的防护设备可以改善他们的预后。缺乏支持亲属的潜在干预措施的高质量证据。
未寻求外部资金。
