Effects of COVID 19 on Mental Health, Capstone Project Example

Part 1

Coronavirus has become a global pandemic since 2019 December. After it emerged from Wuhan, China has profoundly impacted most aspects of society, including physical and mental health (Frawley et al., 2021). My capstone project will focus on covid 19 effects on mental health as a health problem for individuals and their families. This subject is important as it will solve the limitation to maximum quality health care. Despite age and race, every individual can contract the coronavirus, leading to severe disease. The focus will be on individuals diagnosed with coronavirus and what post-mental effects are experienced with coronavirus diagnosis and treatment.

Having been a worldwide issue, covid 19 information has reached most individuals, which has created stigmatization on those who acquire it. I have selected a friend of mine, Mr. Alfred, a nurse diagnosed with coronavirus 19 and has undergone treatment. I will be working with him in my whole practicum to complete this project. The meeting will aid in the realization of mental health effects from coronavirus disease diagnosis. I shall have two hours meeting with him to explain the development of his mental illness after he was diagnosed with covid 19 as he claims that he developed symptoms like difficulty in eating and sleeping, loss of interest in what he loved doing and social withdrawal.

Mental health is an important aspect of all health systems, and it has been an issue of concern in the whole world. Particularly, the mental health challenge may not only be on the diagnosed individual but their family as well as they are overwhelmed with stress and worry (Frawley et al., 2021). Research has shown that covid 19 has brought about psychological effects like in the UK, where a study was carried out in March 2020 to identify the impact of the pandemic on individual mental status. It was discovered that more than 64% of families and households experienced at least one effect on their mental status and well-being, like sleeping difficulty and eating difficulty.

It is evident based on a study that the rapidly sweeping pandemic is creating fear and worry among populations, and it’s more severe for those who test positive hence it is a matter of concern. People tend to experience psychopathy after disasters, and covid 19 has developed rapidly as a natural disaster hence a major concern for post-traumatic stress disorder (Javed et al., 2020). Expounding on this matter will help save a lot of individuals from succumbing to mental illnesses as a result of contracting covid 19 and the set guidelines like quarantine and isolation as it comes with feelings of loneliness, anxiety, fear and sadness.

Leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy are important factors in approaching a particular population’s health problem to develop specific solutions (Frawley et al., 2021). Good leadership, education, approach and management can be well done to enhance solving the challenge. Every nurse should be a leader by looking for solutions to patients’ problems and promoting quality care and good disease progression (Javed et al., 2020). As a leader, a nurse should develop solutions for preventing psychological and emotional torture on individuals diagnosed with covid-19. By creating an understanding atmosphere and helping them through the condition, they can overcome post-trauma and mental problems.

Patients who test positive for COVID -19 experiencing mental disturbances and conditions can be viewed as a failure of proper collaboration between the health stakeholders. This involves the patients themselves, the nurses, the community, and the public health officers responsible for educating the community. Proper communication to the community about the disease, how it is transmitted, and its treatment can help lower the mental problems that arise from quarantine isolation, testing positive and treatment.

A system of health that can accommodate change and manage it amidst the pandemic can help solve the particular challenge. Changing the approach to this individual can help lower the psychological problems they may experience. Lastly, policy considerations are important as the policies affect the practice. A solution can be obtained with a better policy that would favor the old susceptible individuals (Holmes et al., 2020). The pandemic is causing changes, which is to the general population and health care providers. They should now focus on psychological aspects when dealing with patients affected by the pandemic.

As a nurse, it is my responsibility to mitigate the effects on mental health caused by pandemic situations. Explaining and solving this problem will help improve the prognosis of individuals affected mentally by the outbreak, either directly or indirectly. The project will aid in understanding how to create a relationship with affected patients to enhance communication and effect change (Younas & Quennell, 2019). Various research has been undertaken on the role of nurses in solving mental problems caused by covid 19, and it is evident that with the nurse building a good relationship with the patients and the families through communication and promoting healthy behaviors can help reduce the adverse effects of covid 19 on psychological status (Pfefferbaum & North, 2020). Nurses should listen to their patients displaying leadership skills and collaborate with family members to help the individual focus on those at higher risk like children, teens, and older patients.

Communication about covid 19 has spread through the media, creating tension and fear among individuals. (Pfefferbaum & North, 2020) confirms that public stigma has been a great barrier to achieving good mental status during the pandemic. As everyone is afraid of it, even wrong information has been spread, creating psychological torture to those infected. The present policy and guidelines have created a particular way of dealing with covid 19 patients. Despite being measures to positive outcomes, it has been a barrier to attaining free mental conditions as the policies create shame and stigma brought about by isolation and self-quarantine. The nature of the disease has also proven how it is complicated in its management as it is highly communicable, so patients need to be isolated (Holmes et al., 2020). Nursing theory in the management of mental illness states what nurses should do to patients and how they should do it. Nursing theory aids nurses in improving the quality of life, promoting self-care and self-efficacy for patients, and stress control to patients experiencing covid 19.

Solving the issue will require interdisciplinary interventions as research proposes. The health care providers should take the leadership role in guiding patients in their healing journey, protecting them from mental torture (Holmes et al., 2020). This will integrate coordination from nurses, doctors, pharmacists, councilors, public health officers, and the community in positive communication and promote healing rather than discouraging and wrong information. Additionally, changes should be implemented and managed in this period, as this pandemic requires diverse interventions (Younas & Quennell, 2019). The changes should be applied to favor good mental health. Lastly, in solving this issue of mental conditions developing in the face of coronavirus disease, policy should be changed and adjusted to not severely cause post-traumatic stress disorders.

Part 2

I reached out to a friend of mine, Mr. Alfred, 45 years old, who had been diagnosed with covid 19 and had a conversation with them on their mental status and identifying if the diagnosis impacted their mental and psychological condition. The individual is a father of two kids, a husband, and a registered nurse in a health facility. On the scheduled meeting, I have planned to ask the certain individual issues to help ascertain if covid 19 affects mental health to develop relevant interventions in implementing solutions. The meeting will help explore the health challenge and the approach methods to solving it by creating a deeper understanding from an individual level. The rationale for choosing the individual is because I work with him and saw how he developed mental conditions after being diagnosed with covid 19 despite being a health care provider. The age of the patient and a reason for selecting him as he is middle-aged help determine the factor of age in solving health problems. This will help enlighten individuals who may have developmental conditions despite their profession and age.

Presenting my ideas and knowledge about the problem will be through asking Mr. Alfred questions as he answers. Mr. Alfred is to share his experience from when he was diagnosed to the treatment process and healing, where he acknowledges experiencing mild to severe symptoms of mental health condition. At the meeting, what is expected to learn from him is how he received the news that he was covid 19 positive as it is where all the psychological concept begins. Nurses should learn to communicate such information to avoid severe mental illness. His family received him, how he went to isolation, and his experience explained more aspects in the meeting. These questions will be relevant in giving a deeper explanation for the concept of concern.

The meeting will further expound on the role of nurses in his healing process. How they ether impacted his mental status either positively or negatively. He will further explain what missed that he thinks led to his mental disruptions. The purpose of the meeting is to find how leadership failed in the management of Alfred, causing him to developmental conditions, which coordination that is relevant lacked in his management. The meeting will be a success with implementing the necessary communication needed to prevent mental problems for him. I will listen attentively to him as a good leader, portray leadership ask the relevant question, create a good rapport with him to enhance communication, and encourage him that the necessary changes can be done to prevent future occurrences like the one he experienced hence implementing change management skills.

The two-hour meeting will help understand the change management that should be implemented and policy considerations to avoid poor mental health for patients with covid 19. The project will finalize by explaining how integrating nursing professional standards into practices will help solve the issue of patients developing mental illness in the face of the covid 19 pandemic. This will include the cost of care, government policies, and the general nursing standards for health care provision. The expected barrier is breaching confidentiality as the individual will have to explain personal details and cultural and social disparities. The change management strategy for this is educating the client before the meeting on that need for personal information. For sociocultural issues, changes to enlighten and educate society can be implemented.

References

Frawley, T., Van Gelderen, F., Somanadhan, S., Coveney, K., Phelan, A., Lynam-Loane, P., & De Brún, A. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on health systems, mental health, and nursing potential. Irish Journal of psychological medicine, 38(3), 220-226.

Holmes, E. A., O’Connor, R. C., Perry, V. H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., … & Bullmore, E. (2020). Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(6), 547-560.

Javed, B., Sarwer, A., Soto, E. B., & Mashwani, Z. U. R. (2020). The coronavirus (COVID?19) pandemic’s impact on mental health. The International Journal of health planning and management, 35(5), 993-996.

Pfefferbaum, B., & North, C. S. (2020). Mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(6), 510-512.

Younas, A., & Quennell, S. (2019). The usefulness of nursing theory?guided practice: An integrative review. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences, 33(3), 540-555.