新冠肺炎需要及時的精神健康照護
《刺胳針—精神醫學》(Lancet Psychiatry) 期刊刊登一篇由中港澳精神醫學專家的一篇呼籲指出，由2003年SARS經驗中，以下四點建議同樣可以適用在這次新冠肺炎的精神健康照護
1.成立的跨部門的心理健康團隊，對病患與醫療人員都應該提供精神上的支持。
2.對於病患與醫療人員都必須及時並且定期傳達最新的疫情與病情，消除病患與醫療人員對於疫情與病情的不確定與恐懼。(註：台灣衛福部對於疫情即時、定期的開記者會與說明，是許多國外所沒有做到的)
3.用手機、網路提供心理健康的支持，降低被隔離患者與家屬的孤立感。
4.對於病患與醫療檢疫人員都應該定期篩檢憂鬱症、焦慮症與自殺風險。肺炎的疫情對於病患與醫療人員都是相當巨大的壓力，因此也可能需要心理健康的支持與協助。
(財團法人國家衛生研究院 林煜軒醫師摘要整理)
The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pneumonia, believed to have originated in a wet market in Wuhan, Hubei province, China at the end of 2019, has gained intense attention nationwide and globally. To lower the risk of further disease transmission, the authority in Wuhan suspended public transport indefinitely from Jan 23, 2020; similar measures were adopted soon in many other cities in China. As of Jan 25, 2020, 30 Chinese provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions covering over 1·3 billion people have initiated first-level responses to major public health emergencies. A range of measures has been urgently adopted,
such as early identification and isolation of suspected and diagnosed cases, contact tracing and monitoring, collection of clinical data and biological samples from patients, dissemination of regional and national diagnostic criteria and expert treatment consensus, establishment of isolation units and hospitals, and prompt provision of medical supplies and external expert teams to Hubei province.
The emergence of the 2019-nCoV pneumonia has parallels with the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which was caused by another coronavirus that killed 349 of 5327 patients with confirmed infection in China.
Although the diseases have different clinical presentations,
the infectious cause, epidemiological features, fast transmission pattern, and insufficient preparedness of health authorities to address the outbreaks are similar. So far, mental health care for the patients and health professionals directly affected by the 2019-nCoV epidemic has been under-addressed, although the National Health Commission of China released the notification of basic principles for emergency psychological crisis interventions for the 2019-nCoV pneumonia on Jan 26, 2020.
This notification contained a reference to mental health problems and interventions that occurred during the 2003 SARS outbreak, and mentioned that mental health care should be provided for patients with 2019-nCoV pneumonitis, close contacts, suspected cases who are isolated at home, patients in fever clinics, families and friends of affected people, health professionals caring for infected patients, and the public who are in need. To date, epidemiological data on the mental health problems and psychiatric morbidity of those suspected or diagnosed with the 2019-nCoV and their treating health professionals have not been available; therefore how best to respond to challenges during the outbreak is unknown. The observations of mental health consequences and measures taken during the 2003 SARS outbreak could help inform health authorities and the public to provide mental health interventions to those who are in need.
Author：Yu-Tao Xiang, Yuan Yang, Wen Li, et al.
原文連結：https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366 (20)30046-8/fulltext