COVID-19 pandemic and individuals with severe mental illness: A comparative study of Community Mental Health Centers early experiences in COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic on the services in Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) and on the patients followed up by the CMHC. In this direction, the clinical data of the patients and CMHC services were compared with the same period of the previous year. Method: Three CMHCs' data within the first three months following the first COVID-19 case report in Turkey (11.03.202011.06.2020) were compared with the same period of the previous year retrospectively. Sociodemographic data, the number of admissions to the emergency psychiatry outpatient clinic, and the number of admissions to the psychiatry service of 2008 patients followed-up by CMHC were recorded as well as clinical parameters of inpatients and the quantitative values of the services provided by CMHCs. Results: The number of patients presenting to the emergency psychiatry outpatient clinic and admission to the inpatient psychiatry unit significantly decreased in the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (p <0.001). While a narrowing was observed in psychiatric hospitalization indications, face-to-face CMHC services decreased. Conclusion: The COVID-19 outbreak has created difficulties in preventing and treating COVID19 infection in individuals with severe mental illness, as well as difficulties in safely handling patients' existing mental illnesses. Considering the experiences from the early period of the pandemic, for current and future needs, the continuity of CMHCs should be supported and efforts should be made to provide digital services such as telepsychiatry applications when necessary.