Mental health assessment of youth with sickle cell disease and their primary caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

Youth with sickle cell disease (SCD) and their caregivers are susceptible to stress and depression, perhaps exacerbated by pandemic‐associated health and economic concerns. Most of the 50 youth–caregiver dyads enrolled in the multisite trial, Hydroxyurea Adherence for Personal Best in Sickle Cell Treatment (HABIT), took an online survey of self‐reported mental health symptoms and food insecurity during the 2020 COVID‐19 pandemic. Compared to largely pre‐pandemic results, prevalence of mental health symptoms in dyad members appeared to have shifted: fewer youth and more caregivers were affected during the pandemic; many of both groups lacked optimism. Pandemic/post‐pandemic screening of youth with SCD for mental health symptoms and food insecurity appears warranted.