Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena
| Thesis Title | Psychiatric emergencies-urgencies during the Covid-19 epidemic: an observational study in hospital environment |
|---|---|
| Name | Frattini Nicoletta |
| Supervisor(s) | Di Lorenzo Rosaria |
| Academic Year | 2019/20 |
| Thesis type | Research thesis |
Abstract
The new SARS-CoV-2 strain has caused an ongoing pandemic. Health prevention measures to contain the outbreak are profoundly affecting the physical health and personal freedom of the population, also affecting mental health. Nurses are usually the first health care professionals to provide emergency care and must have adequate knowledge and skills to manage patients in emergency, including those with psychiatric disorders. Aims To evaluate the changes that occurred during the lockdown and the following three months of 2020 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year in the urgent psychiatric consultations carried out in the emergency rooms (ER) of Modena hospitals and the clinical and demographic data of the patients who requested them. Methods This monocentric observational study preliminary analyzed a sample of 865 patients who received psychiatric consultations at the ER of OCSAE and Policlinico in Modena in a 6-month period, from the 1st of March to the 31st of August, both in 2019 and 2020. The data, collected in alphanumeric code database, were statistically analyzed through STATA 12-2011. Results This research reported a reduction of both the number of urgent psychiatric consultations at ER and hospital psychiatric admissions and a concomitant increase of urgent psychiatric consultations per patient especially requested by people treated by psychiatric and other health services, guests of psychiatric facilities and foreigners. The most frequent reasons for urgent psychiatric consultations were aggressive behavior and poor socio-environmental conditions. Conclusions This preliminary study suggests that, during the Covid-19 epidemic, urgent psychiatric consultations in the ER were reduced except for the most vulnerable people due to the clinical and/or social conditions, who instead required more consultations. These results can provide a real framework on which to build future emergency nursing care.