EFEITOS DO ISOLAMENTO SOCIAL EM CUIDADORES DE PACIENTES PSIQUIÁTRICOS: UMA REVISÃO INTEGRATIVA

Abstract

With the pandemic caused by COVID-19, some preventive measures have impacted the psychological health of Brazilians. With the change of habits, the caregivers of psychiatric patients had an overload of somatic conditions, which was evidenced in this period. Objective: To analyze the impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health of caregivers of psychiatric patients. Methods: This is an integrative literature review conducted from articles published from 2019 to 2022 in the Lilacs, SciELO and PubMed databases through the descriptors "mental health", "caregivers" and “COVID-19”. Using as a guiding question: "How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the psychological health of caregivers of psychiatric patients?" The inclusion criteria were articles and journals available on the CAPES portal written in Portuguese, Spanish and English, published in the years 2019 to 2022, which contained the descriptors in the title or abstract. Results: We found 64 articles, and after the analysis, adequacy to the theme of the review and exclusion of duplicates, 13 studies were selected. Among the selected articles, 100% (13) were from the Pubmed platform. In general, they have a high level of evidence. The methodological rigor varied between 8 and 10 points, depending on the article, most of them with maximum marks. Conclusion: Thus, it is emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused negative impacts on the psychological health of caregivers of psychiatric patients. The main impacts caused were symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression. Therefore, guidance and preventive care have become important to minimize the suffering of this group of people, through psychological support offered by health services.