Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy
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Review
Moral injury in the wake of coronavirus: Attending to the psychological impact of the pandemic.
Moral injury is a helpful lens through which we can better understand and prepare for the downstream psychosocial impact faced by health care providers during the coronavirus pandemic. Moral injury is psychological weight caused by a transgression of one's own or shared morals and values and can manifest as guilt, shame, inability to self-forgive, demoralization, and, in the worst case, self-harming behaviors. Given the morally challenging and life-threatening decisions our health care workers need to make daily in the face of consistent and ongoing death and loss, it is important to prepare for moral injury and the psychological toll by offering psychological support early and as often as needed at both the personal and institutional level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected older adults, not only through greater risk of illness and death but also by exacerbating underlying distress related to aging and mortality. Older adults' struggles with loneliness, fear of dying, and the sequelae of untreated medical conditions are viewed through the lens of anticipatory grief, and coping and treatment strategies are offered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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The intent of this work was to examine the intersection of COVID-19 fear with social vulnerabilities and mental health consequences among adults living in the United States. Data are from a nationally representative sample (n = 10,368) of U. S. adults surveyed online during demographic subgroups (gender, age, income, race and ethnicity, geography). ⋯ Additionally, significant bivariate relationships were found between socially vulnerable respondents (female, Asians, Hispanic, foreign-born, families with children) and fear, as well as with mental health consequences (anxiety and depressive symptoms). Depressive symptoms, on average, were high (16+ on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale), and more than 25% of the sample reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms. More in-depth psychosocial research is needed using nationally representative samples that can help to inform potential mental health risks, as well as by targeting specific mental health interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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About a week after the confirmation of Nigeria's index case of COVID-19 on February 27, 2020, the Nigerian federal government set up a 12-member Presidential Task Force for the Control of the Coronavirus. The country's borders were closed on March 23, and the lockdown of cities was also implemented. The unanticipated disruption of scholarly or professional advancement for the 94% of university students who are not currently learning may increase the burden of mental illness among these students and predispose them to social vices. ⋯ The number of shifts in these hospitals were adjusted such that there are fewer health care professionals in the hospital at a given time. This strategy has inhibited treatment and care for certain groups of people who are not COVID-19 patients. Efforts are being made to develop telehealth services, but most rural residents may not benefit from them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Dying is a natural part of life; however, death is often a fearful, frightening event. Dying in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges that magnify normative fears and may interfere with a healthy grieving process. To maintain a resilient spirit among those who are at risk of losing a loved one or who have lost a family member to COVID-19, it is important that they be provided with the necessary contextually and culturally appropriate skills and resources to facilitate healing in the face of hardship and uncertainty. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).