Klinik Psikiyatri Dergisi (May 2022)
The comparison of application profile to child psychiatry outpatient clinic before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect of the pandemic on emotional-behavioral problems in children (eng)
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken in our country on application profile to the child psychiatry clinic. METHODS: In our study, the file data of the cases aged 0-18 years who applied to our clinic for the first time during the pandemic period (between 1st of April and 1st of august 2020) were retrospectively scanned, and they were compared with the file data of cases applying for the first time between the same dates of the previous year. As part of the evaluation, the data of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Parent form, which was filled out by the parents of all children between the ages of 6 and 16 who applied to our clinic for the first time, were also analyzed. RESULTS: The data of 707 children and teenagers were examined in our study. It was found that the application rate of school-aged children decreased significantly during the pandemic period (p <0.05). The rate of Anxiety Disorders (13.2%) showed a significant increase in the cases applied during the pandemic (p <0.05). The total difficulty score of SDQ was found to be significantly higher in cases with the application at the time of pandemic compared to cases that applied at the same time of the previous year. The total difficulty scores of SDQ were respectively 15.98 +- 5.63, 13.87 +- 6.64 (p <0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our findings have shown that the pandemic and the measures taken for it are the reasons for changes in the practice of child psychiatry clinics.
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