Psychiatric Social Work Consultations for Persons with Neurological disorders in a Tertiary Care Hospital during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Retrospective Observational Study

Abstract

Background: Worldwide, COVID-19 pandemic lockdown lead to disruptions of general health services and neurological services in particular.  Hence, it is essential to report to the scientific community regarding the nature and range of psychiatric social work services provided for neurology patients during the pandemic lockdown. Aim: To study the profile of patients availed psychiatric social work (PSW) consultation during pandemic lockdown at neurology in-patient setting. Materials and Methods: The study was retrospective in nature. Data were analysed from an in-patient referral registry. For the study purpose, neurological patients referred from April 2020 to June 2020 were considered. All patients referred for psychiatric social work consultations were included in the study. The study was carried out in tertiary care teaching hospital. Frequency and percentages were used to analyse the data. Results: The diagnostic profile revealed Stroke (40%), Guillain-Barré syndrome (10%), meningitis (10%), autoimmune encephalitis (4%), and demyelination (4%), other chronic neurological disorders (30%). Common psychiatric social work services provided were casework with caregivers and patients regarding education about the illness, breaking the bad news, grief interventions, supportive therapy, addressing child care issues, ensuring medication compliance and follow-up services,  pre-discharge counselling,  assessing socio-economic condition to facilitate financial assistance towards concession in hospital charges, facilitating social welfare benefits, and tracing the family members. Conclusion: Stroke, Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuro-infections were the most common neurological disorders required psychiatric social work consultations. Educating the patient and their family about the illness, facilitating welfare benefits and financial assistance were the most common psychiatric social work services provided during the covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

Keywords: Medical social work, service utilization, neurological care, covid-19