O impacto do isolamento social na saúde mental, automedicação e performance comunicativa: um estudo longitudinal

Abstract

In March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Since then, the main public health strategies to reduce the transmission of this disease have involved restricting the movement of people, which induced social isolation. The aim of this study was to verify the impact of social isolation on mental health, self-medication, as well as on communicative performance in the academic community, at diferente times of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a longitudinal observational study, the sample was composed of the academic community of higher education institutions in the state of Paraíba. The following instruments were used: Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ), Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (QRE), Communication Competence Self-Assessment Test (TACCOM) and the Quality of Life and Voice questionnaire (QVV). Questionnaires on general health conditions and isolation during the pandemic were also used. Data were statistically analyzed and the significance level considered was 5%. The sample consisted of 466 participants with a mean age of 29.24 years old. It was noted that social isolation can impact mental health and communication during the first few months of confinement. The presence of minor psychiatric disorders was tracked in most of the sample, participants reported feeling depressed, anxious and sad, and the continuity of the pandemic intensified the presence of these symptoms. It was also found that female practiced more self-medication, used more medication to prevent COVID-19, had greater impairment in mental health and were in social isolation more frequently than male. In addition, it was found that the group of students were more likely to have mental disorders, and teachers had better communicative performance.