Dr. Maneesha Phadke
corresponding author e-mail: maneesha2605@gmail.com
Abstract
The whole mankind is at a vulnerable stage at present due to a unique challenge brought on by the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). The recent pandemic is likely to bring stressful times for all leading to universal psychosocial impact, economic burden along with mass hysteria or mass fear of COVID-19, termed as “coronaphobia”. The implied lockdown across the globe due to high infectivity and fatality rate resulting in a plethora of psychological consequences. In order to prevent disease spread and help to develop herd immunity, forced quarantine is implied world over to combat COVID-19. It can give rise to several psychosocial impacts in the general population across different strata of community. Some of the effects seen as a result may be experienced in the long run such as depression, excessive worry, acute panic, anxiety, stress, obsessive behaviors, hoarding, paranoia and some serious effects such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). News spread via different platforms of social media has added to people’s anxiety and stigmatization at times. Frontline workers are at higher-risk of contracting the disease and are experiencing difficult outcomes in form of burnout, anxiety, fear of transmitting infection, feeling of incompatibility, depression, increased substance-dependence and PTSD. At the same time the most vulnerable class is senior citizens and children who require special attention along with people with different types of chronic ailments. This review has been undertaken to understand the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 pandemic on different strata of society.
Keywords: Psychosocial, COVID-19, SARS-CoV2, Social media, Pandemic, Quarantine, Mental health, Stigmatization, Telemedicine
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