Self-care against COVID-19 in hospitalized psychiatric patients

Abstract

Introduction: the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially modified the dynamics of care in psychiatric hospitals. One of the most effective ways to prevent this disease in hospitalized patients is self-care.
Objective: to implement an educational intervention to promote self-care against COVID-19 in hospitalized psychiatric patients.
Methods: an educational intervention was developed and applied between March and June 2020, with a before and after design, at the Sancti Spíritus Psychiatric Hospital. It worked with all 88 patients, who met the inclusion criteria in the study. The research covered three phases: initial (included design), implementation and evaluation. It was validated through socialization workshops, and the McNemar test was used to compare the proportions before and after. The established ethical precepts were fulfilled.
Results: after the intervention, 70,45 % of the patients had minimum acceptable levels of knowledge, and 18.18% acceptable. In the majority (71,59 %) acceptable self-care prevailed, and with it the assumption of health-generating behaviors, such as proper hand washing, sanitizing inanimate objects, proper use of the mask, adequate nutrition, physical distancing and information to health personnel about the appearance of suspicious symptoms. The results were of high significance.
Conclusions: the level of knowledge of hospitalized psychiatric patients about COVID-19 was raised, and thus self-care against the disease was promoted.