Study of Psychopathology in family members of patients who died due to Covid-19 – A door-to-door survey

BACKGROUND-: The lack of preparedness among suddenly bereaved persons is shown to be associated with higher mortality among the bereaved than when the deceased had a known pre-existing morbidity((1)). Most deaths due to COVID-19 came as a sudden surprise for unprepared family members. However,there are no studies or research that are being conducted regarding the psychopathology of family members of patients who died of COVID-19. AIMS/OBJECTIVES-: To study proportion of psychiatric illness in family members of patients who died of COVID-19. To find the association between the death of an earning member & psychiatric illnesses in the family. METHODS-: We began a door-to-door survey in an urban locality begetting permission from the Institutional Ethics Committee. After obtaining informed consent, 40 families of COVID-19 patients were identified,whose members were interviewed using a semi-structured proforma. The deaths due to COVID19 occurred between the months of March’21 and June’21 and the interviews were carried during August’21. Data collected was tabulated and analysed statistically and results were obtained. RESULTS -: Of the 79 participants 11 had psychiatric illness. The proportion of psychiatric illness was observed to be 13.924% and the most common illnesses observed were depression (54.5%) followed by adjustment disorder (36.7%) and anxiety (18.2%). Of these 79 participants 15 (18.9%) had lost an earning member,of which 4 (26.7%) participants developed a psychiatric illness. The proportion of participants with psychiatric illness who lost an earning member of the family was 26.7% which was more than that in non-earning group (10.9%). But this difference is not statistically significant. CONCLUSION-: We observed that family members of patients who died of COVID-19 are more prone for psychopathology. Various psychopathologies were seen in this study of which the most common psychopathology was depression. Further studies are required for the family members of patients who died due to COVID-19. REFERENCE: • Shah SM, Carey IM, Harris T, DeWilde S, Victor CR, Cook DG. The effect of unexpected bereavement on mortality in older couples. American Journal of Public Health. 2013 Jun;103(6):1140-5.