Managing COVID-19 related distress in primary care: principles of assessment and management

Astill Wright, Laurence ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8324-1229, Gnanapragasam, Sam, Downes, Anthony J. and Bisson, Jonathan I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5170-1243 2021. Managing COVID-19 related distress in primary care: principles of assessment and management. BMC Family Practice 22 , 73. 10.1186/s12875-021-01399-8

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Abstract

COVID-19 will cause normal feelings of worry and stress and many of those who experience higher levels of distress will experience resolution of their symptoms as society returns to pre-COVID-19 functioning. Only a minority are likely to develop a psychiatric disorder. Certain individuals may be vulnerable to experiencing persisting symptoms, such as those with pre-existing comorbidity. Management approaches could centre around using collaborative approaches to provide and build on already existing socioeconomic support structures, the avoidance of over-medicalisation, watchful waiting and finally treating those who do meet the criteria for psychiatric diagnosis. Primary care clinicians are likely be the first healthcare point of contact for most COVID-19 related distress and it is important that they are able to provide evidence based and evidence informed responses, which includes social, psychological and pharmacological approaches. This expert opinion paper serves to summarise some approaches, based primarily on indirect extrapolation of evidence concerning the general management of psychological distress, in the absence of COVID-19 specific evidence, to assist primary care clinicians in their assessment and management of COVID-19 related distress.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Additional Information:	This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher:	BioMed Central
ISSN:	1471-2296
Funders:	Wellcome Trust
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 February 2021
Date of Acceptance:	23 February 2021
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2024 03:33
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/138406

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