Mental Health Implications and Outcomes of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Authors

Emily Hairfield, MPH, MPAS, PA-C DMSc Fellow, University of LynchburgFollow
Stephanie Hull, PA-C, DMS, Lincoln Memorial University

Specialty

Family Medicine

Advisor

Elyse Watkins, PA-C DHSc

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed the trajectory of healthcare, social interaction and mental wellness throughout the world since the beginning waves of the virus first emerged. At the beginning of January 2022, the World Health Organization reported just under three hundred million cases of confirmed Covid-19 infection and approximately five and a half million confirmed deaths from the virus.1 The physical impacts of the pandemic has been experienced and broadly investigated in the general medical field due to the vast number of fatalities from the virus, however, the delayed implications of these potential social effects have not been as widely acknowledged or researched.1 Recent research shows increasing rates of psychological distress and early warning signs of an overall increase in mental health disorders directly associated with changes in social structures related to Covid-19.1 The purpose of this review is to discuss the increasing rates of new onset and poorly managed mental health disorders since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. This review will discuss risk factors in evaluating for mental health disorders, assessing patients for mental health concerns and mental health disorders related to the Covid-19 pandemic based on demographics and past medical history as well as discuss interventions and recommendations for treating high risk patients who demonstrate symptoms and concerns for mental health disorders.

Recommended Citation

Hairfield, MPH, MPAS, PA-C DMSc Fellow E, Hull, PA-C, DMS S. Mental Health Implications and Outcomes of the Covid-19 Pandemic. University of Lynchburg DMSc Doctoral Project Assignment Repository. 2022; 4(2).