Retrospective examination of psychosocial support services offered in the COVID-19 outbreak

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the online psychosocial support services provided to COVID-19 cases at a district level and to examine the characteristics of those who use this service. Methods: This is a retrospectively designed cross-sectional descriptive study. COVID-19 patients who received psychosocial support services in a district in Istanbul between April 1 2020 and December 31 2022 constituted the study population. They received psychosocial support via telephone from psychologists/social workers. Psychosocial risk was evaluated with seven questions. A total of 2770 people were interviewed. Pearson chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used for categorical variables, while the Mann‒Whitney U test was used to compare two independent groups. A binary logistic regression test was used in further analysis. Results: The median age was 36.0 years. Of the participants, 52.5% (n=1455) were women, 75.9% (n=2092) were married and 66.9% (n=1852) had less than a high school education. A total of 19.8% (n=532) had chronic diseases and 29 (1.1%) were healthcare workers. Of the patients, 3.0% (n=83) were pregnant, 0.8% (n=21) were women in the postpartum period and 0.2% (n=6) were disabled individuals. The participants were mostly at high risk for psychiatric disorders [2.7% (n=75)]. Of the participants, 1.4% (n=38) were at high risk for family problems, 0.5% (n=14) for lack of social support and physical discomfort, 0.3% (n=8) for changes in sleep and eating patterns, and 0.1% (n=3) for economic loss. One participant was at high risk for changes in daily habits. Of the participants, 5.1% (n=140) were considered to be at high risk in at least one psychosocial support area. Women, vulnerable groups, people with low education and chronic diseases had significantly higher psychosocial support needs (p<0.05). In multivariate analysis, the presence of chronic disease and being in a vulnerable group had significant effects on psychosocial support needs (p<0.001). Conclusion: It is extremely important that psychosocial support services are disseminated and accessible, especially to vulnerable groups. In this context, remote support services via telephone are essential.