Phone and personal item confiscation of psychiatric patients

“Because of the diversity of reactions to smartphone deprivation, inpatient psychiatric unit clinicians should be aware of the duality of smartphone use and restriction among adolescents. Fostering youths’ awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of their smartphone use may facilitate behavior change related to problematic phone use after
leaving the hospital.” (Burke)

(Burke)

Burke, T. A., et al . (2022). Reactions to naturalistic smartphone deprivation among psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Journal of psychiatric research, 155, 17–23. Full Text for Emory Users

Continue reading

What strategies can hospital administrations take to alleviate and prevent psychological issues encountered by clinicians on the Covid-19 frontlines?

Clinicians caring for Covid-19 patients have shown multiple signs of stress including anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance.1 Predictors of these adverse effects include young age, low work experience, female gender, heavy workload, working in unsafe settings, and lack of training and social support.2

Issues in COVID-19 care that may provoke these problems include “limited information about COVID-19, unpredictable tasks and challenging practices, insufficient support, concerns about family, and emotional and psychological stress”3, as well as “working in an isolated environment, concerns about personal protective equipment shortage and usage, physical and emotional exhaustion, intensive workload, fear of being infected, and insufficient work experiences with COVID-19.”4

Continue reading