Background

There is little understanding of the mental health impact for young people with long-term physical health conditions and mental health professionals’ experiences of supporting them during COVID-19. This service evaluation aimed to conduct a survey of the psychological services provided by mental health professionals in a paediatric hospital in relation to COVID-19.

Method

Clinical psychologists and assistant psychologists (n = 76) across the hospital were asked to complete a survey, asking about their perceptions of COVID-19’s impact on patients and families and experiences of providing support during COVID-19. Open-ended survey questions were analysed qualitatively using framework analysis.

Results

Respondents described perceived impacts on patients and families around social isolation, school closure, family relationships, physical health, mental health, treatments and social support. Respondents’ experiences of providing mental health support during COVID-19 highlighted themes around providing remote/virtual support, workload and facilitators and barriers to their work.

Conclusions

Mental health professionals surveyed reported a complex mental health landscape in young people with long-term physical health conditions and their families during COVID-19. Service-wide involvement is needed to facilitate changes to support vital adaptations to remote/virtual working. Research on the mental health of young people with long-term physical health conditions and staff experiences of providing support is warranted.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 期间对儿科医院心理健康专业人员的调查

背景

对于患有长期身体健康状况的年轻人的心理健康影响以及心理健康专业人员在 COVID-19 期间支持他们的经验知之甚少。该服务评估旨在对一家儿科医院的心理健康专业人员提供的与 COVID-19 相关的心理服务进行调查。

方法

要求全院的临床心理学家和助理心理学家 ( n = 76) 完成一项调查，询问他们对 COVID-19 对患者和家庭的影响的看法以及在 COVID-19 期间提供支持的经验。使用框架分析对开放式调查问题进行了定性分析。

结果

受访者描述了在社会孤立、学校停课、家庭关系、身体健康、心理健康、治疗和社会支持方面对患者和家庭的感知影响。受访者在 COVID-19 期间提供心理健康支持的经历突出了围绕提供远程/虚拟支持、工作量和促进者以及工作障碍的主题。

结论

接受调查的心理健康专业人员报告说，在 COVID-19 期间，患有长期身体健康状况的年轻人及其家人存在复杂的心理健康状况。需要全服务范围的参与来促进变革，以支持对远程/虚拟工作的重要适应。有必要对有长期身体健康状况的年轻人的心理健康和员工提供支持的经验进行研究。