Addressing the Covid-19 Pandemic in Populations With Serious Mental Illness

Datos Bibliográficos

ID23329633
AutoresBenjamin G Druss (0000-0003-0619-4873, Emory University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2020
Volumen77
Número9
Páginas891
Fecha de publicación2020-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJAMA Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2168-622X • E-ISSN: 2168-6238
EditorialAmerican Medical Association (AMA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0894
PMID32242888
OpenAlexW3014374433
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas86
Referencias citadas2

With Serious Mental IllnessThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic will present an unprecedented stressor to patients and health care systems across the globe.Because there is currently no vaccine or treatment for the underlying infection, current health efforts are focused on providing prevention and screening, maintaining continuity of treatment for other chronic conditions, and ensuring access to appropriately intensive services for those with the most severe symptoms. 1isasters disproportionately affect poor and vulnerable populations, and patients with serious mental illness may be among the hardest hit.High rates of smoking in this population may raise the risk of infection and confer a worse prognosis among those who develop the illness. 2 Residential instability and homelessness can raise the risk of infection and make it harder to identify, follow up, and treat those who are infected. 3Individuals with serious mental illnesses who are employed may have challenges taking time off from work and may lack sufficient insurance coverage to cover testing or treatment.Small social networks may limit opportunities to obtain support from friends and family members should individuals with serious mental illness become ill.Taken together, these factors may lead to elevated infection rates and worse prognoses in this population.What strategies are available to mitigate the outcome of this epidemic among patients with serious mental illness?Federal preparedness policies developed in the wake of complex disasters have increasingly embraced the notion of whole community preparedness, which supports building and supporting structures at multiple levels to prepare and respond, particularly for vulnerable populations. 4Within the public mental health care system, this includes engagement with mental health service users, clinicians, and federal and state policies.

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Betacoronavirus · Biology · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Coronavirus Infections · Disease · Infectious disease (medical specialty) · MEDLINE · Mental health · Mental illness · Outbreak · Pandemic · Psychiatry · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) · Adolescent and Pediatric Healthcare · Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints · Homelessness and Social Issues · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Psychology · Virology