Preventing COVID-19 Infection in Mental Health Units: Recommendations for Best Practices

Abstract

Mental health facilities should be equipped to care for patients while preventing spread of COVID-19. Peer-reviewed literature and guidelines for government and health organizations were reviewed to guide best practices. Gunderson's five therapeutic functions of a milieu are used as a conceptual framework. Patients should be screened for infection according to local or national policy prior to admission to an inpatient mental health unit. While interacting with one another in a therapeutic milieu, patients should be encouraged to practice physical distancing and hand hygiene. Clinicians may need to alter therapeutic groups to prevent COVID-19 infection. Additionally, clinicians should monitor patients for emerging symptoms and conduct rapid testing and isolation of patients suspected of COVID-19. Recommendations are made for patients unable to adhere to physical distancing or hand hygiene policies.

Patient safety with covid-19 in hospital units: a scoping review

“…It is worth mentioning that important security measures were rarely present, such as the active search and monitoring of suspected cases in professionals/patients and continuing education ( 15 ) , adaptation of the support staff to patients with covid-19 ( 23 ) , changes in protocols, plans, technologies and policies in care ( 18 ) , in addition to care based on Gunderson’s five functions (restraint, support and support, structure, involvement and validation) ( 19 ) .…”

Investigation of Activities of Daily Living and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Levels of COVID-19 Patients: A Descriptive Study

“…Normally, the incidence of anxiety and depression scores are high in patients with a psychiatric history and related psychiatric medication use. In addition, this psychiatric illness may have been the result of the relapse of the disease due to many stressors such as isolation, loneliness, and hospitalization due to the diagnosis of a highly contagious disease-causing death (Lee et al, 2020;Li et al, 2020;Quidley-Rodriguez and de Tantillo, 2020). In a study investigating anxiety, depression, and health anxiety in Turkey, those with a psychiatric diagnosis were found to have high anxiety and health anxiety levels, which coincides with the findings of this study (Özdin and Özdin, 2020).…”

Creating Effective Post-Pandemic Psychiatric Nursing Clinical Experiences Using the Roy Adaptation Model

“…Application of the concepts of RAM provides several approaches to provide students clinical interaction with patients as an essential component of psychiatric nursing. Quidley-Rodriguez and de Tantillo (2020) recommend having patients and staff use masks and testing patients for COVID-19 before being admitted to the unit to minimize transmission of the virus among staff and patients. These recommendations should extend to students entering the mental health clinical as well.…”