Social Experiences and Health Needs of Patients with Severe Mental Illness and their Caregivers during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain.

BACKGROUND: The strict isolation measures for the population imposed by the health authorities caused a prolonged disruption of informal social support networks. Both this new social situation and the decrease in accessibility to health care have generated new needs in people with severe mental illness (SMI) and their caregivers. OBJECTIVES: This study provides insight into life experiences and health needs of a population with SMI during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. METHODS: Qualitative design using semi-structured dyadic interviews, conducted from January through December 2022. A purposive sampling of patients with SMI and their caregivers was carried out through key informants in rural and urban localities in southern Spain. Verbatims were identified and classified by triangulation after the evaluation of the interview transcripts. The codes were defined through content analysis using the NVivo software. RESULTS: Semi-structured dyadic interviews (21), identifying three main categories: 1. Social isolation: increased, causing greater personal vulnerability, exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms and exhaustion in caregivers. 2. Accessibility to Health Services: decreased with fewer face-to-face consultations, with difficulty in managing urgent situations and telephone attention in decompensated and disabled patients. 3. Continuity of healthcare: decreased with distrust in health professionals due to lack of communication between primary care and the hospital. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 confinement exacerbated loneliness and worse health self-perception in SMI people. Greater formal social support was required. GPs role is key to avoiding delays in appointments and lack of coordination between primary and specialised care.

Quality of life and medical care for SMI people got worse in controlled confinement during COVID-19 pandemic.Caregiving burden and isolation were common, especially in rural areas and in populations at social risk.SMI people requested an improvement in medical care accessibility, continuity, and more social resources.

Patients with severe mental illness and their carers' expectations for GPs' communication skills: a qualitative approach in Spain.

BACKGROUND: Effective communication with GPs (General Practitioners) enables higher rates of patient satisfaction and adherence to treatment plans. People with severe mental illness (SMI) and their caregivers present unique characteristics that present difficulties in the GP-carer-patient communication process. AIM: To explore the expectations of patients with SMI and their caregivers regarding GPs' communication skills in primary care consultations. DESIGN & SETTING: Face-to-face interviews, using focus group methodology, which were undertaken in southern Spain. METHOD: Forty-two participants took part in 21 paired semi-structured interviews with an average duration of 19±7.2 minutes. Information was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was undertaken, obtaining a codification in categories by means of triangulation. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the analysis. Theme 1 was interviewer communication characteristics. The ability of GPs to use a language that was colloquial and adapted to each person was perceived as a determinant of the quality of care provided. An empathetic attitude, low reactivity, and efficient time management were the most valued communication skills. Theme 2 was telemedicine: telephone consultation and video consultation. The telephone consultation was perceived as a useful tool to care for people with SMI. Video consultation was valued as a requirement in isolated rural areas. Theme 3 was the role of the caregiver during the clinical interview. The caregiver was considered by the patients as an ally who improves the clinical interview. Theme 4 was the perceived barriers and facilitators during the clinical interview. The continuity of care, defined by a low turnover of GPs, determined the quality perceived by those who required care. CONCLUSION: Themes emerging from this study have suggested that people with SMI require an inclusive, collaborative, and personalised approach in the care they receive from the public health system. Improved communication between GPs and patients with SMI is an essential requirement for quality medical care.

Qualitative study on the use of emergency services by people with serious mental disorder in Spain.

BACKGROUND: The population with severe mental disorders (SMD) is a frequent user of emergency services. Situations of psychiatric decompensation can have devastating consequence and can cause problems in getting urgent medical care. The objective was to study the experiences and needs of these patients and their caregivers regarding the demand for emergency care in Spain. METHODS: Qualitative methodology involving patients with SMD and their informal caregivers. Purposive sampling by key informants in urban and rural areas. Paired interviews were carried out until data saturation. A discourse analysis was conducted, obtaining a codification in categories by means of triangulation. RESULTS: Forty-two participants in twenty-one paired interviews (19 ± 7.2 min as mean duration). Three categories were identified. 1º Reasons for urgent care: poor self-care and lack of social support, as well as difficulties in accessibility and continuity of care in other healthcare settings. 2º Urgent care provision: trust in the healthcare professional and the information patients receive from the healthcare system is crucial, telephone assistance can be a very useful resource. 3º Satisfaction with the urgent care received: they request priority care without delays and in areas separated from the other patients, as well as the genuine interest of the professional who attends them. CONCLUSIONS: The request for urgent care in patients with SMD depends on different psychosocial determinants and not only on the severity of the symptoms. There is a demand for care that is differentiated from the other patients in the emergency department. The increase in social networks and alternative systems of care would avoid overuse of the emergency departments.

[Influence of the companion in Primary Care consultations on communication skills and interview time]. / Influencia del acompañante en las consultas de Atención Primaria sobre las habilidades en comunicación y el tiempo de entrevista.

OBJETIVES: To know the influence of the companion in triadic clinical encounter on the quality of doctor-patient communication and the duration of the interview. DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive study. LOCATION: 10 Primary Care Centers. PARTICIPANTS: Resident doctors of Family and Community Medicine. INTERVENTIONS: Peer review of video recordings of clinical demand consultations. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: CICAA-2 questionnaire to assess communication skills (improvable, acceptable or adequate); age and sex, reasons for consultation and duration of the interview. Bivariate and multivariate analyses. Ethical authorization, oral informed consent and custody of the video recordings. RESULTS: 73 RD (53.8% women, 32.9±7.7 years) participated with 260 interviews (60.3% women and 2.1±1.0 clinical demands). 27.7% of consultations with a companion (female sex 65.3%). The mean duration of the interviews was 8.5±4.0min. Clinical encounters lasted longer when a companion attended (2.7±0.5min more; p<.001 Student t) and with a greater number of clinical demands (40% with ≥3 reasons, p=0.048 X2). The mean value of the total score of the CICAA-2 scale (46.9±16.5; difference 4.6±2.3) and Task 2 (39.3±15.8 with difference 4.4±2.2) were higher when companion was present (p<.05 Student t). The model obtained with logistic regression shows a longer duration of the consultation with a companion (OR 1.2; CI [1.1-1.3]) and possibly a better score in Task 2 communication skills (OR 1.02; CI [0.99-1.1]). CONCLUSIONS: Triadic communications challenge the clinician's communication skills, improving their abilities to identify and understand patient problems, albeit at the cost of a greater investment of time.

[Community diagnosis using qualitative techniques of expectations and experiences in a health area in need of social transformation]. / Diagnóstico comunitario mediante técnicas cualitativas de las expectativas y vivencias en salud de una zona necesitada de transformación social.

OBJECTIVE: To know the views, experiences and expectations of care provided by the Andalusian Public Health System (SSPA) of users of an urban area in need of social transformation (ZNTS). DESIGN: Qualitative methodology (exploratory study). LOCATION: Urban basic health zone (16,000 inhabitants, 40% ZNTS). PARTICIPANTS: Purposive sampling of users of SSPA and community leaders. Homogeneity criteria: age. Heterogeneity criteria: sex, frequency, active/pensioner, level cultural/economic. MAIN INTERVENTIONS: Conversational techniques recorded by videotape and moderated by a sociologist (user dicussion groups and in-depth interviews for community leaders). ANALYSIS: transcription of speeches, coding, categories triangulation and final outcome. RESULTS: Seven groups (43 participants, 58% ZNTS) and 6 leaders. They want continuity of care and choice of professionals, but not the medical change without information and attention's discontinuity primary care/hospital. There's bad physical accesibility by the urban environment in the ZNTS and is criticized admission services and paperwork; the programmed appointment and the electronic prescriptions are improvements but asking more hospital referrals and reviews. There's good appreciation of the professionals (primary care-closer, hospital-greater technical capacity). It needs to improve nursing education and speed of emergency assistance. There's a lack of leadership in the system organization, very fragmented. They know a range of services focusing on the demand for care; other health activities not spread to the users. CONCLUSION: The SSPA should incorporate the views and expectations of communities in social risk to a real improvement in the quality of care.