Abstract
The fear of the new coronavirus infection has driven many non-COVID-19 patients away from essential healthcare. Our study aimed to investigate the perception of risk and feelings of danger for the contagion in a sample of Italian psychiatric patients. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown in Italy. The risk perception and risk-related variables were assessed in a sample of 150 consecutive patients with a previous diagnosis of major depression (50), bipolar I disorder (50), and schizophrenia seeking ambulatory care using a questionnaire previously administered to the general Italian population. Our results showed that patients were more concerned about economic, psychological, and interpersonal consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, rather than about their own health. At the multiple regression analysis, the likelihood of COVID-19 resolution was positively influenced by the diagnosis of schizophrenia, the increased perceived effectiveness, and the presence of positive emotions. Indeed, positive emotions and uncertainty positively influenced interpersonal risk. Our study highlights the need to provide more support to psychiatric patients during emergency events to prevent them from engaging in risky behaviors.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection was first diagnosed in China in December 2019
We evaluated the risk perception of COVID-19 pandemic in a psychiatric population to better understand how patients faced the pandemic in Italy
Our findings showed that there was no difference in the perception of risk among patients with Major Depression, Schizophrenia, and Bipolar Disorder indicating that being affected by a psychiatric illness might influence the risk perception independently from the diagnosis
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection was first diagnosed in China in December 2019. Lanciano et al [33] developed an instrument to assess risk perception linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into consideration several dimensions such as health, work, institutional-economy, interpersonal, and psychological. Using this instrument, we sought to: A. investigate the perception of the likelihood of COVID-19 pandemic resolution in psychiatric patients seeking ambulatory care; determine differences in health risk concerns and health risk likelihood in patients with different pre-existing mental disorders; investigate the mortality risk perception, the economic risk perception, the interpersonal, and psychological risk perception; investigate the perceived knowledge regarding the pandemic and the perceived control concerning the risk for infection investigate their perception regarding the political decisions adopted to address the health crisis; investigate the patient ‘affective states during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that resuming ambulatory care during the second wave of the pandemic in Italy would be associated with substantial perception of the risk of COVID-19 infections and remarkable concerns regarding the patient’s financial and psychological burden
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
