Psychological experience of patients with confirmed COVID-19 at the initial stage of pandemic in Wuhan, China: a qualitative study

Tiantian Li,Yingjie Hu,Wenzhi Cai,Wei Ren,Lei Xia,Jia Wang,Ling Chen,Wei Xia,Lihua Wen

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-12277-4

Abstract

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quickly developed into a global pandemic and affected patients’ mental health. However, little is known about psychological experience of patients with COVID-19. The aim was to elucidate the psychological experience of patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Wuhan, at the initial stage of the pandemic.MethodsThis study was conducted using a phenomenological approach in a qualitative study. Thirteen patients with confirmed COVID-19 from a COVID-19-designated hospital in Wuhan, were recruited between March 15th and April 20th, 2020 via purposive sampling. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted face-to-face. The interview data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsThe psychological experience of patients was summarized into three themes: mental distress related to COVID-19, expectations of life scenarios after discharge, and making sense of the experience. These themes were classified into 10 sub-themes. Patients experienced confusion, uncertainty, worry, guilt and concern. Both positive and negative expectations of life scenarios after discharge were reported, manifested as expectations about making up for lost time with family, anxiety about social discrimination and feelings of helplessness about poor financial security. Moreover, patients perceived strength of abundant social support and awareness of social responsibility from their unique experience to cope with their condition.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Wuhan underwent complex psychological experience, both positive and negative at the initial stage of the pandemic. These findings will contribute to the delivery of effective mental health care to safeguard patients’ wellbeing.

Highlights

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quickly developed into a global pandemic and affected patients’ mental health
Three key themes emerged from the analysis of interviews: mental distress related to COVID-19, expectations of life scenarios after discharge, and making sense of the experience
The current study qualitatively investigated the psychological experience of patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Wuhan, the area hit hardest by COVID-19 in China at the initial stage of pandemic, revealing that patients were distressed by the pandemic and experienced severe psychological impacts regarding COVID-19 and their life scenarios after discharge

Summary

Introduction

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quickly developed into a global pandemic and affected patients’ mental health. Anxiety and fear were the most common psychological responses observed during previous pandemics of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), influenza A (H1N1), and Ebola; other manifestations, such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder occurred [7]. The patients may suffer from anxiety, depression, fear, panic posttraumatic and stress symptoms, [6, 9]. Each of these symptoms has adverse effects on the recovery process of the disease [10]. This highlights the increasing need to pay attention to mental health of patients during the disease outbreaks

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Conclusion