Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena

Abstract

introduction: As of March 2020, the entire population faced the biohazard of SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the COVID-19 respiratory disease that has caused more than four million deaths. The ongoing global health emergency has led to a number of issues not only in health but also in social, economic and political spheres. Research Aim: To detect changes in psychiatric emergencies at the territorial psychiatric service level during the period of the spread of the coronavirus and related social distancing measures and how psychiatric services worked to cope with the pandemic. Materials and Methods: This retrospective observational study collected demographic and clinical data of patients who accessed in emergency-emergency care at the CSM of the AUSL of Modena from l 1-3-2020 to l 31-1-21, comparing them with the 11 months of the pre-COVID19 period. Data were statistically analyzed. Results: A total of 1162 in the pre-COVID19 period and 1214 in the pandemic period were analyzed, requested by 666 and 599 patients, respectively. The following statistically significant differences were observed between the two periods: an increase in urgent consultations carried out by CSMs, in particular telephone consultations; an increase in consultations for patients already in care at territorial services and in the number of consultations per patient. During the pandemic period, the outcome of counseling tends to a greater referral to the patient's home, avoiding hospitalization. Conclusions: The results of this study show that, during a pandemic, the most socially and clinically vulnerable patients are those who required more attention from the psychiatric service, which had to deal with an increased demand for clinical activity, carried out largely by telematics.