Psychosocial Impacts in Communicable Diseases PDF

Psychosocial Impacts in Communicable Diseases Dr Julia Wong School of Nursing Tung Wah College 1 Learning Objectives After the lecture, students should be able to : Identify the causes of psychosocial distress in people who contracted sever...

Psychosocial Impacts in Communicable Diseases Dr Julia Wong School of Nursing Tung Wah College 1 Learning Objectives After the lecture, students should be able to : Identify the causes of psychosocial distress in people who contracted severe communicable diseases Provide preventive measures and corresponding nursing interventions to people who have psychosocial distress during quarantine/isolation 2 Psychological and Social Impacts E.g. AIDS, Avian flu pandemic, SARS, COVID-19 Confusion, anger, disproportionate degree of fear -> anxiety -> irrational behaviour -> “germ panic” Consequences: Stress, burnout, Post-traumatic Symptoms Disorder (PTSD), depressive symptoms, insomnia symptoms, severe anxiety symptoms, decreased social relationships, and inequalities in the availability of resources and facilities have intensified vulnerabilities, especially among minorities and vulnerable groups Causes: Long quarantine duration, infection fears (infection is transmissible, imminent and invisible), frustration, loneliness boredom, inadequate supplies, inadequate information, financial loss and stigma Stigmatization/discrimination, such as anti-Asian racism Who: Patients, healthcare professionals and public 3 Intervention & Prevention Quarantine individuals for no longer than required Provide adequate supplies Education through campaigns, pamphlets, talks, press conferences and so forth to + worried provide more information about the disease and the progress of the outbreak provide a clear rationale for quarantine clarify the myths/misunderstandings Enhance resilience and coping strategies Provide psychological support Refer to professionals, such as, social worker, counsellor, clinical psychologist Health policy, e.g. free for vaccination 4 References Alizadeh, H., Sharifi, A., Damanbagh, S. et al. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social sphere and lessons for crisis management: a literature review. Nat Hazards 117, 2139–2164 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-05959-2 Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8 Pappas, G., Kiriaze, I. J., Giannakis, P., & Falagas, M. E. (2009). Psychosocial consequences of infectious diseases. Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 15(8), 743–747. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2009.02947.x Preti, E., Di Mattei, V., Perego, G., Ferrari, F., Mazzetti, M., Taranto, P., Di Pierro, R., Madeddu, F., Calati, R. The psychological impact of epidemic and pandemic outbreaks on healthcare workers: Rapid review of the evidence. Current Psychiatry Reports, 22(8):43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-020-01166-z 5