Online mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem Vol. 75; no. suppl 1; p. e20210554
• Main Authors: Guedes, Ariane da Cruz, Kantorski, Luciane Prado, Willrich, Janaína Quinzen, Coimbra, Valéria Cristina Christello, Wünsch, Carla Gabriela, Sperb, Lilian Cruz Souto de Oliveira, Sperb, César Brasil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem 01-01-2022
• Subjects: Anxiety; COVID-19; Depression; Female; Humans; Mental Health; Nursing; Pandemics; Psychology; Remote Consultation; Retrospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2
• ISSN: 0034-7167; 1984-0446
• DOI: 10.1590/0034-7167-2021-0554

Identify users, services, and reasons for seeking online mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A descriptive, retrospective study, with documentary analysis of medical records of users served between April and July 2020.
Of the 258 accesses, 159 were complete, and 99 were offline messages. Although there were 61 (38.36%) consultations in May, in April, there were 49 (30.82%) in 18 days of reception. More than 89% of accesses were women between 40 and 59 years. Among the motivations in the search for care, anxiety, fear, depression, sadness, crying, stress, and suicidal ideation stand out.
Chat is a quick, early and short-wait intervention opportunity for people in need of mental health care. Therefore, the study emphasizes the importance of investing in the training of nursing professionals to act in mental health.