TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Emergency department mental health presentations before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in Western Australia
JO  - Australasian psychiatry
A1  - Dragović, Milan
A1  - Pascu, Viki
A1  - Hall, Tammy
A1  - Ingram, Jesse
A1  - Waters, Flavie
SP  - 627
EP  - 631
VL  - 28
IS  - 6
N2  - OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to high levels of psychological distress in the community. This study aimed to examine whether emergency departments (EDs) also recorded a rise in mental health presentations.  METHOD: Changes in the number, and type, of mental health presentations to Western Australia EDs were examined between January and May 2020, and compared to 2019.  RESULTS: Data showed an unexpected decrease in the number of mental health presentations, compared to 2019, which was temporally coincident with the rise in local COVID-19 cases. Presentations for anxiety and panic symptoms, and social and behavioural issues, increased by 11.1% and 6.5%, respectively, but suicidal and self-harm behaviours decreased by 26%.  CONCLUSION: A rise in local COVID-19 cases was associated with a decrease in mental health presentations to EDs. This has important implications for the planning and provision of healthcare services in the current pandemic.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1039-8562
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1039856220960673
ID  - ref1
ER  -