Views of Mental Health Professionals on Positive Changes in Service Practices and Staff-User Relationships After One Year of Covid-19 Pandemic in Italy

Abstract

This study explored views of mental health services (MHS) professionals regarding positive changes in service practices and organizations, and staff-user relationships after one year of COVID-19 in Italy. Professionals from a community-oriented MHS completed online the Questionnaire on MHS Transformations during the COVID-19 pandemic, a 30-item tool developed by a participatory approach and validated. Of the 184 participants, 91.8% felt it was “true/definitely true” that during the pandemic they had informed users on procedures to reduce contagion risks, and 82.1% stated that they had increased telephone contact with users. Sixty-nine percent of professionals reported that staff revised treatment plans according to new needs of care and 78.6% stated that they had been able to mediate between user needs and safe working procedures. Moreover, 79.4% of respondents stated that they had rediscovered the importance of gestures and habits, and 65% that they had gained strength among colleagues to face fear. Fifty-four percent of participants admitted that they had discovered unexpected personal resources in users. Overall, 59.6% of participants stated that they found some positives in the COVID-19 experience. Perceived positive changes was greater among professionals from community facilities vs. those from hospital and residential facilities. In community-oriented MHS, the pandemic offered an opportunity to change practices and rethink the meaning of relationships between people. This data may be useful in generating a more balanced understanding of COVID-19's impact on MHS and for MHS planning in the pandemic era.

Workplace Factors, Burnout Signs, and Clinical Mental Health Symptoms among Mental Health Workers in Lombardy and Quebec during the First Wave of COVID-19

“…Finally, focusing on difficulties may have underestimate the role of positive job-related experiences and support resources that may have played a relevant role in fostering workers well-being, as stated theoretically by the Job Demands–Resources Model [ 50 ]. For example, Magliano et al [ 53 ] reported that mental health workers, after one year of the pandemic emergency, valued teamwork and social climate among colleagues, reviewed the therapeutic plans, developed new skills related to telepsychiatry, and discovered new personal resources in themselves and in users. The evidence that models emerging from Lombardy and Quebec, developed separately, yielded very similar models and factors could be considered the main strength of the study, increasing the external validity.…”

“About Navigating Chaos”: Latin American and Caribbean Mental Health Workers’ Personal Impact Due to SARS-CoV-2 in the First Hundred Days

“…An additional 15% of participants acknowledged their capacity to learn from this situation and eventually adapt to it. In Italy and the United Kingdom, two studies capturing data later in the pandemic showed higher percentages [ 29 , 30 ]. In Italy, 59.6% of participants stated that they found some positives in the COVID-19 experience [ 29 ] and, in the United Kingdom, resilience was reported for as much as 70% of participants [ 30 ].…”

“…In Italy and the United Kingdom, two studies capturing data later in the pandemic showed higher percentages [ 29 , 30 ]. In Italy, 59.6% of participants stated that they found some positives in the COVID-19 experience [ 29 ] and, in the United Kingdom, resilience was reported for as much as 70% of participants [ 30 ]. The timing of our response collection at the onset of the pandemic, may be a factor in explaining why a lower percentage of participants included positive aspects of their experience.…”

COVID-19 Impact on the Italian Community-based System of Mental Health Care: Reflections and Lessons Learned for the Future

“…2022 [21] More than 90% of respondents increased telephone contact with users. Around 70% of mental health professionals reported that pharmacological treatment plans were revised by CMHC staff according to new needs of care and almost 80% stated that they had been able to mediate between user needs and safe working procedures.…”

“…Only one study investigated mental health profession-als’ view around positive changes in service organization and staff-user relationships during post-lockdown pandemic phase ( Table 1 ) [ 21 ]. The online survey was conducted in the Mental Health Department of Trieste, north of Italy, listed by the World Health Organization as one of the most innovative and well-established community mental health system, and data were collected from Feb-ruary 15 to March 31, 2021.…”