Telemental health assessment of adolescents during the covid-19 pandemic: a follow-up study

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to understand how the pandemic affects the mental health of adolescents with a previous psychiatric diagnosis during the pandemic.
METHODS: Fifty-nine patients aged 12-18 years, who were previously followed up in the Adolescent Mental Health Unit were included in the study. The participants were interviewed via telephone between June-July,2020 and December2020-January2021. Sociodemographic-data, psychiatric diagnoses and the previous CGI scores were obtained from the patient file. The Clinical Global Follow-up Scale was scored by the interviewing physician.
RESULTS: Past CGI scores before the pandemic was significantly greater for the participants with greater than one psychiatric condition(p=.024). For participants with more than one psychiatric condition the difference between CGI scores previous to the pandemic and during the early stages of the pandemic was significant(p=.004). The total satisfaction scores for telepsychiatry services assessed via the Telemedicine Evaluation Form were statistically higher for the participants with a single psychiatric disorder(p=.023). The past and early pandemic CGI scores were found to be inversely correlated with Telemedicine Evaluation Form with r=-.338 p=.019, r=-.353 p=.014 respectively.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The present study offers a perspective for adolescent mental health across the pandemic, underlining the importance and caveats of healthcare delivery to youth with mental health problems during lockdown.