Journal of Alcoholism & Drug Dependence
Open Access
ISSN: 2329-6488
ISSN: 2329-6488
Bardia Danaei
Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences, Iran
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Alcohol Drug Depend
The COVID-19 crisis is multidimensional, with impacts across functional dimensions, including emotionally, economically, physically, psychologically, and socially. Although anxiety and fear should be normalized during this time, it is still essential to understand how these can be exacerbated due to uncertainty, social distancing, and economic downfall. A significant concern is that during the current pandemic, the mentioned exacerbations and limited access to care may worsen psychiatric illnesses. Furthermore, quarantine can mean losing freedom, separation from loved ones, and uncertainty regarding health status. Various studies suggest that when individuals are in social isolation or quarantined for different purposes, the psychological impact would be substantial, wide-ranging, and longlasting. These concerns may have considerable effects on mental health status for both patients and health care providers. Moreover, social isolation and loneliness are linked to worsening depression and anxiety and a significantly increased risk of hospitalization. Telehealth, defined as the delivery of psychological and mental health services via telecommunication technologies, has been previously described as ‘the next big frontier in the efficient and effective delivery of health care. The advantages of telemedicine in the current pandemic situation have been discussed with several controversies. Telemedicine can support health administration, long-distance clinical care, and education. Without the typical face-to-face visit with the doctor, therapy for psychological stabilization could be provided. Moreover, telemedicine can reduce the loss of follow-up among psychiatric patients, and by reducing the number of clinic visits for medicines and periodical discussions among the geriatric populace with mental ailments, telemedicine can also possibly decrease the number of secondary or tertiary diseases. So, there are limited data regarding the efficacy of telemedicine for the treatment of mental disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this systematic review aims to investigate the association of telemedicine and the improvement of mental health problems.
Bardia Danaei is an associate researcher at Microbiology department, medical school of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. He obtained both his MD degree and Master of Public Health (MPH) from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. He is a qualified general practitioner and a member of Medical Council of Iran. His previous experience involved being a collaborator of Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study projects at The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. He is also a member of research team at Men’s Health and Reproductive Health Research Center (MHRHRC) at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences