Feelgood

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Psychological impact of admission with Covid-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: Clinical trial of a digital intervention to improve wellbeing

  • IRAS ID

    283828

  • Contact name

    Joanna Dobbin

  • Contact email

    j.dobbin@nhs.net

  • Sponsor organisation

    Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

  • Eudract number

    2020-000936-23

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 2 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    There are at the time of writing, no studies that have looked at the psychological impact of being admitted with COVID-19 during the pandemic. It is important that the long-term wellbeing of patients who have been admitted is addressed. A newly published analysis (Rogers et al 2020) has looked at both the psychiatric and neuropsychiatric consequences from the previous Serious Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory (MERS) outbreaks, which showed increased risks of anxiety, depression and post traumatic depression (PTSD) in both the short and longer term of patients admitted to hospital. Excluding usual community psychiatric services (for example improving access to psychological therapies) and some specialist intensive care follow up services, no interventions at the Royal Free have been set up to address the long-term psychological impacts of admission to hospital with COVID-19.

    This is a randomised control trial to look at the impact of a digital tool, which uses relaxation and mindfullness based cognitive therapy on those who have prolonged psychological symptoms from being admitted with Covid-19 during the peak of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. In this context Covid-19 refers to the disease caused by the virus (named SARS-CoV-2).

    This study is not blinded, and is designed to document any changes in the anxiety and depression symptoms of patients who were admitted with Covid-19 during the pandemic, two months after discharge from hospital.

    Patients who were discharged during the peak of the pandemic, April 2020, will be contacted as part of their standard respiratory follow up, 2 months post discharged and a screening survey will assess their level of psychological distress. Those suffering symptoms of anxiety or depression will be invited to participate in the trial which involves 12 days of an intervention with short and long term follow up using validated anxiety, depression and PTSD scales.

  • REC name

    North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    20/NW/0303

  • Date of REC Opinion

    2 Jul 2020

  • REC opinion

    Unfavourable Opinion