Page 13 - NIH Bulletin Vol. 16 December 2020

SPECIAL EDITION: BATTLING COVID-19

MENTAL HEALTH STATUS OF STABLE HOSPITALISED COVID-19 PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL
KUALA LUMPUR, HOSPITAL SUNGAI BULOH AND HOSPITAL PERMAI JOHOR BAHRU
(MENTALSTATCOVID)

In any disaster or emergency, mental
health is an important marker for
survival. Nearly all people affected
by disasters and emergencies will
experience psychological trauma.
Therefore, it is critical to understand
the effect of COVID-19 on patients’
mental health.
This was a collaborative study among
the Centre for Family Health Research,
Institute for Public Health (IPH)
and the Psychiatric Departments
of Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Hospital
Sungai Buloh and Hospital Permai. The
aim was to determine the prevalence
of depression and general anxiety
disorders (GAD) of stable hospitalised
COVID-19 patients in the respective
hospitals. Quota sampling technique
was utilised whereby the first 278
eligible patients who responded to the
screening was recruited in this study.
The study was conducted with the aid of
the Computer-Assisted Self-Interview
(CASI). The system and questionnaires
were tested by minimum of 30
different responses to ensure its
reliability and the changes were made
as per the feedback received. The data
collection was conducted from 23
April to 23 June 2020. Responses were
downloaded daily by the central team
in IPH and scoring was performed for
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-
9) and General Anxiety Disorder-7
(GAD-7). Cases that required further
assessment for diagnosis and
management were referred within 24
hours to the psychiatrist in-charge.

The findings of this study are expected
to aid in the strategic planning in
improving existing plans of action for
managing mental health issues on the
current pandemic.

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