Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T18:53:01.625Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychological Responses Among Korean Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Survivors and Bereaved Families

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2021

Dayoung Lee ,
Junghyun H Lee ,
Kyoungsun Jeon ,
Nabin Lee  and
Minyoung Sim
Dayoung Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea Division of Disaster Mental Health Services, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Junghyun H Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea Division of Disaster Mental Health Services, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Kyoungsun Jeon
Affiliation:
Division of Disaster Mental Health Services, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Nabin Lee
Affiliation:
Division of Disaster Mental Health Services, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Minyoung Sim*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea Division of Disaster Mental Health Services, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea
*
Corresponding author: Minyoung Sim, Email: minyoung.sim.yb@gmail.com.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

In 2015, the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea affected 186 patients and led to 38 bereaved families. This study aimed at investigating the nature and related factors of the psychological responses of MERS victims during the acute phase of disaster.

Methods:

The MERS Psychological Support Team under the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare provided counseling services to MERS survivors and bereaved families for 4 weeks, based on crisis intervention. In this study, we reviewed the counseling records of 109 survivors and 80 bereaved family members, and analyzed their epidemiological and MERS-related information along with psychological responses.

Results:

Somatic symptoms and anxiety related to social stigmatization or disease transmission were common in MERS survivors, whereas grief reactions such as sadness, and anger were frequently observed in bereaved families. Bereaved MERS survivors showed more avoidance/isolation than non-bereaved MERS survivors. Females, those with an underlying physical or psychiatric health condition, and those having experienced longer duration of hospitalization and non-healthcare workers were more at risk of suffering from psychological problems.

Conclusions:

Survivors and bereaved families of epidemics can experience various psychological distresses depending on individual characteristics and the inherent features of the epidemic. Therefore, mental health in epidemics should be approached and considered more seriously.

Keywords

middle east respiratory syndromesurvivorsbereaved familypsychological responsesinfectious disease
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , June 2022 , pp. 1077 - 1082
Copyright
© Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Person, B, Sy, F, Holton, K, Govert, B, Liang, A; National Center for Infectious Diseases/SARS Community Outreach Team. Fear and stigma: The epidemic within the SARS outbreak. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10(2):358–363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Roo, A, Ado, B, Rose, B, Guimard, Y, Fonck, K, Colebunders, R. Survey among survivors of the 1995 Ebola epidemic in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of Congo: Their feelings and experiences. Trop Med Int Health. 1998;3(11):883–885.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maunder, R. The experience of the 2003 SARS outbreak as a traumatic stress among frontline healthcare workers in Toronto: Lessons learned. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004;359(1447):1117–1125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mak, IW, Chu, CM, Pan, PC, Yiu, MG, Chan, VL. Long-term psychiatric morbidities among SARS survivors. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2009;31(4):318–326.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wu, KK, Chan, SK, Ma, TM. Posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depression in survivors of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). J Trauma Stress. 2005;18(1):39–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tsang, HW, Scudds, RJ, Chan, EY. Psychosocial impact of SARS. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10(7):1326–1327.Google ScholarPubMed
Elizarrarás-Rivas, J, Vargas-Mendoza, JE, Mayoral-García, M, et al. Psychological response of family members of patients hospitalized for influenza A/H1N1 in Oaxaca, Mexico. BMC Psychiatry. 2010;10:104. Published 2010 Dec 3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yoo, S, Sim, M, Choi, J, et al. Psychological Responses among Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster Victims and Their Families. J Korean Med Sci. 2019;34(4):e29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Irion, PE. Changing patterns of ritual respose to death. Omega-Journal of Death and Dying. 1991;22(3):159–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leong, IY, Lee, AO, Ng, TW, et al. The challenge of providing holistic care in a viral epidemic: Opportunities for palliative care. Palliat Med. 2004;18(1):12–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, E, Hershenfield, K, Grace, SL, Stewart, DE. The psychosocial effects of being quarantined following exposure to SARS: A qualitative study of Toronto health care workers. Can J Psychiatry. 2004;49(6):403–407.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Verma, S, Mythily, S, Chan, YH, Deslypere, JP, Teo, EK, Chong, SA. Post-SARS psychological morbidity and stigma among general practitioners and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Singapore. Ann Acad Med Singap. 2004;33(6):743–748.Google ScholarPubMed
Maddison, D, Viola, A. The health of widows in the year following bereavement. J Psychosom Res. 1968;12:297–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marris, P. Widows and their families. London, UK: Psychology Press; 2004.Google Scholar
Ott, CH. The impact of complicated grief on mental and physical health at various points in the bereavement process. Death Stud. 2003;27(3):249–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parkes, CM. Effects of bereavement on physical and mental health--A study of the medical records of widows. Br Med J. 1964;2(5404):274–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, AO, Huak, CY. Psychological impact of the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak on health care workers in a medium size regional general hospital in Singapore. Occup Med (Lond). 2004;54(3):190–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chong, MY, Wang, WC, Hsieh, WC, et al. Psychological impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome on health workers in a tertiary hospital. Br J Psychiatry. 2004;185:127–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tam, CW, Pang, EP, Lam, LC, Chiu, HF. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong in 2003: Stress and psychological impact among frontline healthcare workers. Psychol Med. 2004;34(7):1197–1204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyregrov, A, Kristoffersen, JI, Gjestad, R. Voluntary and professional disaster-workers: Similarities and differences in reactions. J Trauma Stress. 1996;9(3):541–555.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ersland, S, Weisaeth, L, Sund, A. The stress upon rescuers involved in an oil rig disaster. “Alexander L. Kielland” 1980. Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl. 1989;355:38–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guo, YJ, Chen, CH, Lu, ML, Tan, HK, Lee, HW, Wang, TN. Posttraumatic stress disorder among professional and non-professional rescuers involved in an earthquake in Taiwan. Psychiatry Res. 2004;127(1-2):35–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Um, DH, Kim, JS, Lee, HW, et al. Psychological Effects on Medical Doctors from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Outbreak : A Comparison of Whether They Worked at the MERS Occurred Hospital or Not, and Whether They Participated in MERS Diagnosis and Treatment. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 2017;56(1):28–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, SM, Kang, WS, Cho, AR, Kim, T, Park, JK. Psychological impact of the 2015 MERS outbreak on hospital workers and quarantined hemodialysis patients. Compr Psychiatry. 2018;87:123–127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Khalid, I, Khalid, TJ, Qabajah, MR, Barnard, AG, Qushmaq, IA. Healthcare workers emotions, perceived stressors and coping strategies during a MERS-CoV Outbreak. Clin Med Res. 2016;14(1):7–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kristensen, P, Weisaeth, L, Hussain, A, Heir, T. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders and functional impairment after loss of a family member: A longitudinal study after the 2004 Tsunami. Depress Anxiety. 2015;32(1):49–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shin, J, Park, HY, Kim, JL, et al. Psychiatric morbidity of survivors one year after the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Korea, 2015. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 2019;58:245–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar