Ann Jarvis Mary, Smith Lourett
School of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
School of Clinical Care Sciences and Medicinal Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa.
Health SA. 2021 Nov 26;26:1665. doi: 10.4102/hsag.v26i0.1665. eCollection 2021.
The stressors caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have influenced both the physical and the mental health of the elderly, increasing their vulnerability. Counselling by the mental healthcare nurse is a critical protective factor in mitigating the mental health effects of COVID-19. However, counselling is unintentionally interrupted by the effects of the mask as a barrier to non-verbal communication. This commentary aims at conscientisation of mental healthcare nursing practice interruptions to non-verbal communication, brought upon by the pandemic. Practice recommendations focus on mask-wearing becoming less of a stressor to offset the challenges experienced by both the elderly and the mental healthcare nurses.
The authors conclude that a need exists to revisit the fundamentals of counselling, and show initiative to addressing the practice challenges created by the wearing of masks yet simultaneously contribute to #flatten_the_mental_illness_curve.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行所带来的压力源影响了老年人的身心健康，增加了他们的脆弱性。精神科护理人员的咨询是减轻COVID-19对心理健康影响的关键保护因素。然而，口罩作为非语言交流障碍所产生的影响无意中打断了咨询过程。本评论旨在提高对大流行给精神科护理实践中与非语言交流相关的中断情况的认识。实践建议着重于让戴口罩不再成为一种压力源，以抵消老年人和精神科护理人员所面临的挑战。
作者得出结论，有必要重新审视咨询的基本要素，并主动应对戴口罩所带来的实践挑战，同时为“平缓精神疾病曲线”做出贡献。
