Psychological Assessment of Family Caregivers of Patients With COVID-19 in the United States of America and India

Psychological Assessment of Family Caregivers of Patients With COVID-19 in the United States of America and India

Background and objectiveThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings worldwide in terms of preparedness protocols related to epidemics. A key area of research that is evidently overlooked across the globe is the mental health of family caregivers taking care of p...

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Published in:Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 14; no. 9; p. e29267
Main Authors: Sethi, Yashendra, Kaiwan, Oroshay, Bassiony, Mahmoud, Vora, Vidhi, Agarwal, Pratik, Gajwani, Neeraj, Garg, Keshav, Sai, B Siva, Prakash, Adyut, Gohel, Snehal, Roy, Debabrata
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Palo Alto Cureus Inc 17-09-2022
Cureus
Subjects:
Anxiety
Caregivers
Consent
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Data collection
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Internal Medicine
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental health
Pandemics
Patients
Population
Psychiatry
Psychological assessment
Public Health
Questionnaires
Sleep
Statistical analysis
Stress
Variance analysis
United States > US
India
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Summary:Background and objectiveThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings worldwide in terms of preparedness protocols related to epidemics. A key area of research that is evidently overlooked across the globe is the mental health of family caregivers taking care of patients with COVID-19. In light of this, this study aimed to engage in a comparative analysis between the two worst affected countries, India and the United States of America (USA), which differ considerably in their demography, socio-epidemiological factors, and health system efficiency.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,250 family caregivers of patients with COVID-19 in India and the USA to assess their stress, anxiety, and sleep disturbance levels using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), respectively. Psychological assessment questionnaires were administered through online mode, which gathered demographic information and responses on several self-reporting scales. The main outcome measures were self-reported ratings on PSS, GAD-7 scale, and PSQI.ResultsWe found that 75.4% of the family members of COVID-19 patients suffered from mental health issues. The scores of all three scales were higher in caregivers from the USA than in India, more evident and pronounced in caregivers of hospitalized patients. The test scores were statistically significant (p<0.05) indicating a negative impact of having a dependent member in the family, being married, being of younger age, and having a longer duration of COVID-19 infection. Vaccines were found to have a life-enhancing effect.ConclusionOur findings highlight that the mental health of family caregivers is an ignored aspect and must be addressed. We recommend the implementation of well-researched and appropriate legislation, treatment programs, and health policies that involve not only the patients but also their families.
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ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.29267