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Psychological Impact During the First Outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy

The first outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy was confirmed on February 21, 2020. Subsequently, COVID-19 turned into a global pandemic, causing a global health emergency, triggering an unprecedented event in the modern era. This study assessed the immediate psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on...

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Autores principales: Ferrucci, Roberta, Averna, Alberto, Marino, Daniela, Reitano, Maria Rita, Ruggiero, Fabiana, Mameli, Francesca, Dini, Michelangelo, Poletti, Barbara, Barbieri, Sergio, Priori, Alberto, Pravettoni, Gabriella
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7667038/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33240119
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.559266
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author Ferrucci, Roberta
Averna, Alberto
Marino, Daniela
Reitano, Maria Rita
Ruggiero, Fabiana
Mameli, Francesca
Dini, Michelangelo
Poletti, Barbara
Barbieri, Sergio
Priori, Alberto
Pravettoni, Gabriella
author_facet Ferrucci, Roberta
Averna, Alberto
Marino, Daniela
Reitano, Maria Rita
Ruggiero, Fabiana
Mameli, Francesca
Dini, Michelangelo
Poletti, Barbara
Barbieri, Sergio
Priori, Alberto
Pravettoni, Gabriella
author_sort Ferrucci, Roberta
collection PubMed
description The first outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy was confirmed on February 21, 2020. Subsequently, COVID-19 turned into a global pandemic, causing a global health emergency, triggering an unprecedented event in the modern era. This study assessed the immediate psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on emotional health and well-being. An ad hoc questionnaire was designed for online completion to expedite data collection during the COVID-19 outbreak. People were invited to participate in the study via social media and email from 4 to 18 March 2020. The entire survey comprised of 21 questions, covering a wide range of factors, such as demographics, disease knowledge, psychological impact, daily life activities, and psychological precautionary measures. The main outcome measure was psychological impact. This was measured based on intensity and prevalence of self-reported feelings of anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, and concern during the epidemic. In total, 10,025 respondents completed the online survey. Of these, about 73% were females, and 100% of the sample possessed good knowledge of the disease. The greatest prevalence of high psychological impact was reported in the <34 years' age group and in north Italy. Additionally, the psychological impact influenced important daily life activities, such as sexuality and nutrition. Our study provides information about the immediate psychological (emotional feelings) responses of Italy's general population to the COVID-19 epidemic. The survey covers several factors that can influence mental health; our results help gauge the psychological burden on the community and offer ways to minimize the impact.
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spelling pubmed-76670382020-11-24 Psychological Impact During the First Outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy Ferrucci, Roberta Averna, Alberto Marino, Daniela Reitano, Maria Rita Ruggiero, Fabiana Mameli, Francesca Dini, Michelangelo Poletti, Barbara Barbieri, Sergio Priori, Alberto Pravettoni, Gabriella Front Psychiatry Psychiatry The first outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy was confirmed on February 21, 2020. Subsequently, COVID-19 turned into a global pandemic, causing a global health emergency, triggering an unprecedented event in the modern era. This study assessed the immediate psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on emotional health and well-being. An ad hoc questionnaire was designed for online completion to expedite data collection during the COVID-19 outbreak. People were invited to participate in the study via social media and email from 4 to 18 March 2020. The entire survey comprised of 21 questions, covering a wide range of factors, such as demographics, disease knowledge, psychological impact, daily life activities, and psychological precautionary measures. The main outcome measure was psychological impact. This was measured based on intensity and prevalence of self-reported feelings of anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, and concern during the epidemic. In total, 10,025 respondents completed the online survey. Of these, about 73% were females, and 100% of the sample possessed good knowledge of the disease. The greatest prevalence of high psychological impact was reported in the <34 years' age group and in north Italy. Additionally, the psychological impact influenced important daily life activities, such as sexuality and nutrition. Our study provides information about the immediate psychological (emotional feelings) responses of Italy's general population to the COVID-19 epidemic. The survey covers several factors that can influence mental health; our results help gauge the psychological burden on the community and offer ways to minimize the impact. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-11-02 /pmc/articles/PMC7667038/ /pubmed/33240119 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.559266 Text en Copyright © 2020 Ferrucci, Averna, Marino, Reitano, Ruggiero, Mameli, Dini, Poletti, Barbieri, Priori and Pravettoni. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychiatry
Ferrucci, Roberta
Averna, Alberto
Marino, Daniela
Reitano, Maria Rita
Ruggiero, Fabiana
Mameli, Francesca
Dini, Michelangelo
Poletti, Barbara
Barbieri, Sergio
Priori, Alberto
Pravettoni, Gabriella
Psychological Impact During the First Outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy
title Psychological Impact During the First Outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy
title_full Psychological Impact During the First Outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy
title_fullStr Psychological Impact During the First Outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy
title_full_unstemmed Psychological Impact During the First Outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy
title_short Psychological Impact During the First Outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy
title_sort psychological impact during the first outbreak of covid-19 in italy
topic Psychiatry
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7667038/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33240119
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.559266
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