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. 2021 Apr 22;18(9):4440.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18094440.

The Collateral Damage of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Mental Health and Psychiatry

Frederick A J Simon  1 , Maria Schenk  1 , Denise Palm  1 , Frank Faltraco  1 , Johannes Thome  1
Affiliations

The Collateral Damage of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Mental Health and Psychiatry

Frederick A J Simon et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The potential consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak are multifarious and remain largely unknown. Deaths as a direct result of the condition are already in the millions, and the number of indirect deaths is likely to be even higher. Pre-existing historical inequalities are compounded by the virus, driving increased rates of infection and deaths amongst people who use drugs and alcohol, those belonging to racial-ethnic minority groups, poorer communities, LBGTQ+ populations, healthcare workers, and other members of the care economy; all of whom are already at increased risk of adverse mental health effects. In this paper we suggest that a central role of mental health practitioners is advocacy: both for people who use psychiatric services and for those who, due to the effects of the pandemic, are at an increased risk of needing to do so.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; discrimination; disparities; psychiatry; stigma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interest.

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