Psychological distress in post COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 disease is highly contagious and transmission rates are very high. In any biological disaster like this, fear, uncertainty, and stigmatization are common. Even after discharge, they may suffer from varying degrees of long-term mental health problems mainly due to isolation. Physiotherapists play an important role in the rehabilitative phase of these. Therefore, the need of this study is to understand the psychological impact caused because of the COVID-19 disease and take this into consideration while treating the patients so that the rehabilitation protocol is effective maximally.Methods: Permission was taken from the ethical committee before beginning the research. Subjects who met the inclusion criteria were selected as per voluntary enrolment. A validated self-made questionnaire was forwarded and response was obtained from 167 subjects. Descriptive data analysis was done.Results: After suffering from COVID-19 disease, out of the 167 participants that were a part of this study 35.3% had sleeping disturbances, 29.3% had a poor appetite, 34.7% feel gloomy and hopeless for no reason, 45.5% have trouble relaxing, 43.1% can’t stop worrying, 53.3% experience negative thoughts, 57.5% report decreased job efficiency, 37.1% feel afraid that something awful might happen, 32.9% feel anxious for no reason, and 26.9% complain of reduced concentration. The mean age of population of this study was 30 with a standard deviation of 12.27.Conclusions: The study suggested the presence of psychological distress among the COVID-19 survivors. Post-illness stress and depression are highly prevalent among COVID-19 survivors.