1. Quarantine and Mental Health Challenges for Occupational Medicine: The Case Report of a Nurse Infected With SARS-CoV-2
- Author
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R. Buselli, M. Corsi, A. Veltri, S. Baldanzi, M. Chiumiento, E. Del Lupo, R. Marino, G. Necciari, F. Caldi, S. Perretta, R. Foddis, G. Guglielmi, and A. Cristaudo
- Subjects
Psychiatry ,Occupational Medicine ,Nursing (miscellaneous) ,SARS-CoV-2 ,Health Personnel ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,COVID-19 ,Middle Aged ,Telemedicine ,Mental Health ,Quarantine ,Humans ,Female ,Pandemics - Abstract
This case study draws attention to the psychosocial difficulties that emerged in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in relation to the remote management of subjects with psychiatric vulnerabilities following exposure to prolonged quarantine. The case involves a 56-year-old hospital nurse, followed by the Occupational Health Department of a major university hospital in central Italy for mood instability in the context of a cyclothymic temperament. She was quarantined for occupationally acquired COVID-19 and remained positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) via swab test for more than 2 months between March and May 2020. In this case study, we discuss the challenges presented by the risk of a prolonged quarantine in a psychologically vulnerable employee, the need for occupational medicine to provide adequate health surveillance of all health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the effectiveness of telepsychiatry, and the difficulties in formulating a proper treatment strategy.
- Published
- 2022