Coronavirus pandemia as a challenge to the mental health system

Abstract

Background. Humanity is experiencing a collective mental trauma associated with the COVID 19 pandemic, which has immediate and delayed mental health consequences. The predicted is an increase in the number and severity of mental illness in the country, a decrease in the availability of medical and psychiatric care and social support for people with special needs. The pandemic is developing against the backdrop of the reform of specialized medical care, the reduction in funding for outpatient psychiatric services and psychiatric hospitals in the country. In addition, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, causes COVID-19, along with the acute respiratory syndrome, can infect the brain, cause immune reactions, disrupt blood clotting, and small blood vessel thrombosis, further adversely affecting the brain functions and mental health of patients.
 Objective – to analyze the influence of the coronavirus disease pandemic on mental health, the course of mental and neurological disorders and the availability of psychiatric and general medical care for specialized patients, according to literature and the results of a survey of experts in mental health.
 Materials and methods. Using the information-analytical method, publications from MEDLINE, Embase, Pubmed, Web of Science and other open sources by keywords were selected and analyzed, and the results of a survey of doctors, heads of medical institutions and people representing patient and parent organizations were analyzed. acting in the interests of persons with mental disorders.
 Results and conclusions. The results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic affects all aspects of the life of Ukrainian society, is accompanied by massive lesions of the respiratory, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, nervous systems, mental disorders and is fraught with the development of a global crisis in the field of mental health.
 Multicenter studies of the effect of COVID-19 on the central and peripheral nervous systems, on the course of mental and neurological diseases in infected people, the study of the long-term psychological, psychological and neurological consequences of coronavirus disease, and the effect on the mental health of the entire population and vulnerable groups are needed. There is an urgent need for research to find out how to mitigate the psychological consequences of prolonged isolation in a pandemic, to develop tools for specific prevention in risk groups. It is necessary to develop mechanisms to increase the effectiveness of psychiatric care in a pandemic, mass social exclusion, demoralization of psychiatric and social support systems in the face of a high level of infection and a reduction in specialized services and medical workers. It is concluded that to solve this problem, integration between disciplines and sectors and new funding for research are needed.