ABSTRACT
Background: The ongoing pandemic has led to a global surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related mental health research. However, most related publications come from Western countries or China, and their findings cannot always be extrapolated to Arab countries. Aims: This study provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of mental health research pertaining to Arab countries' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A scoping review of the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 database for publications on mental health was conducted by authors affiliated with Arab institutions, including articles from inception to 24 October 2020. The included publications were evaluated for their national distribution, international collaboration, publication type, and main research themes. Methodological quality analysis of the included research studies was performed using the original and modified versions of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: In total, 102 articles were included in this study, averaging 4.6 articles per Arab country. Most of the articles emerged from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. A majority of publications demonstrated international collaboration. Most of the publications were original research studies and cross-sectional in design. The predominant research theme was examining the pandemic's mental health effects on the general population and healthcare workers. Only 28.0% of the studies were of high methodological quality, whereas 41.5% were moderate and 30.5% were low in quality. Conclusions: Mental health research in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Arab region has quantitative and qualitative shortfalls. Arab institutions need to respond to the pandemic promptly in order to address the delineated research gap and to generate higher-quality research output.
ABSTRACT
Background: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has imposed an unprecedented strain on healthcare systems worldwide. In response, psychiatrist trainees were redeployed from their training sites to help manage patients with COVID-19. This study aimed to examine the attitude of psychiatrist trainees toward redeployment to COVID-19 sites and their perceived preparedness for managing physical health conditions during redeployment. Methods: A cross-sectional researcher-developed online survey was administered among psychiatrist trainees in May 2020 at the Department of Psychiatry, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar. Results: Of the 45 psychiatrist trainees, 40 (88.9%) responded to the survey. Most trainees reported being comfortable dealing with chronic medical conditions, but less so with acute life-threatening medical conditions. Half reported feeling anxious about redeployment, and most felt the need for additional training. We found that trainees' perceived redeployment preparedness was significantly associated with their level of postgraduate training and the time since and duration of their last medical or surgical training. Conclusion: Adequate preparation and training of psychiatrist trainees is important before redeployment to COVID-19 sites to ensure that they can effectively and safely manage patients with COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Background: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has imposed an unprecedented strain on healthcare systems worldwide. In response, psychiatrist trainees were redeployed from their training sites to help manage patients with COVID-19. This study aimed to examine the attitude of psychiatrist trainees toward redeployment to COVID-19 sites and their perceived preparedness for managing physical health conditions during redeployment. Methods: A cross-sectional researcher-developed online survey was administered among psychiatrist trainees in May 2020 at the Department of Psychiatry, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar. Results: Of the 45 psychiatrist trainees, 40 (88.9%) responded to the survey. Most trainees reported being comfortable dealing with chronic medical conditions, but less so with acute life-threatening medical conditions. Half reported feeling anxious about redeployment, and most felt the need for additional training. We found that trainees’ perceived redeployment preparedness was significantly associated with their level of postgraduate training and the time since and duration of their last medical or surgical training. Conclusion: Adequate preparation and training of psychiatrist trainees is important before redeployment to COVID-19 sites to ensure that they can effectively and safely manage patients with COVID-19.