TY - JOUR
T1 - Help Seeking of Highly Specialized Mental Health Treatment before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Health Professionals
AU - Braquehais, María Dolores
AU - Gómez Durán, Esperanza L
AU - Nieva, Gemma
AU - Valero, Sergi
AU - Ramos-Quiroga, Josep Antoni
AU - Bruguera, Eugeni
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - (1) Background: Ongoing specialized programs for health professionals (HPs) adapted their treatment services during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of medical e-records of HPs with mental disorders working in Catalonia that were consecutively admitted to the Galatea Care Program Clinical Unit. The sample (N = 1461) was divided into two periods: 21.5 months before (n = 637) and after (n = 824) 14 March 2020. (3) Results: There was a significant increase (29.4%) in the number of referrals to the specialized Clinical Unit during the pandemic, especially with respect to physicians compared to nurses. The percentage of HP women at admission and the clinical severity of the first treatment episode remained without changes before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The most prevalent main diagnoses also remained similar: adjustment disorders (41.5%), mood disorders (24.9%), anxiety disorders (14.4%), and substance use disorders (11.8%). (4) Conclusions: HPs, particularly physicians, more frequently sought voluntary help from specialized mental health programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies are needed to analyze the reasons behind this finding and the evolution of referrals to these types of programs after the COVID-19 outbreak
AB - (1) Background: Ongoing specialized programs for health professionals (HPs) adapted their treatment services during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of medical e-records of HPs with mental disorders working in Catalonia that were consecutively admitted to the Galatea Care Program Clinical Unit. The sample (N = 1461) was divided into two periods: 21.5 months before (n = 637) and after (n = 824) 14 March 2020. (3) Results: There was a significant increase (29.4%) in the number of referrals to the specialized Clinical Unit during the pandemic, especially with respect to physicians compared to nurses. The percentage of HP women at admission and the clinical severity of the first treatment episode remained without changes before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The most prevalent main diagnoses also remained similar: adjustment disorders (41.5%), mood disorders (24.9%), anxiety disorders (14.4%), and substance use disorders (11.8%). (4) Conclusions: HPs, particularly physicians, more frequently sought voluntary help from specialized mental health programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies are needed to analyze the reasons behind this finding and the evolution of referrals to these types of programs after the COVID-19 outbreak
KW - COVID-19
KW - Health professionals
KW - Mental health
KW - Treatment services
KW - Mental health programs
KW - Mental disorders
KW - Substance use disorders
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85126453489
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph19063665
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19063665
M3 - Article
C2 - 35329351
SN - 1660-4601
VL - 19
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
ER -
