Buffering Effect of in-patient Psychiatric Care on the Link Between Fear of Covid-19 and Mental Health Consequences

Abstract

Background& AimesPsychiatric admissions during the covid-19 pandemic were limited ignoring their possible benefit. The study focused on assessing the effect of the fear of covid on the mental health and well-being of in-patients as opposed to outpatients MethodsDuring the first lockdown, forty-four in-patients and day care patients (in-patient group) and 74 outpatients (out-patient group) were recruited after an informed consent procedure. Fear from the infection was assed using the Fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S), severity of mental health symptomatology was evaluated with the outcome questionnaire-45 (OQ-45)., wellbeing was assessed with the Psychological well-being scale (PWB).OutcomesThere was no difference between the in-patient group and out-patient group in their fear of COVID-19 levels. FCV-19 predicted changes in the outpatient OQ total score (B=2.21, p<0.001), OQ interpersonal relation subscale (B=0.34, p=0.01), PWB total score (B=-0.05, p<0.001), PWB environmental mastery subscale (B=-.07, p<0.001) and PWB positive relation subscale (B=-0.05, p<0.001), but not in the inpatient group.ConclusionsMental health and well-being of the out-patient group that had less therapeutic contact –unlike the in-patient group-correlated with the fear of covid. Supporting the hypothesis that intensive psychiatric therapy had a protective effect from the mental health consequences of “fear of covid”.