Study of Emotional Well-Being and Perceived Stress among Covid-19 Positive Patients in Isolation, Family Members, and Neighbors

As the world grapples with the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting millions of people worldwide, emotional distress has become the “new normal”. While health professionals are focused on the control and treatment of the disease, mental health ramifications of COVID-19 have not been adequately addressed. The aim of this research study was to capture the psychological impact of COVID-19 in North India, by comparing the psychological well-being of patients in isolation centers, their family members and neighbors. The results showed that the patients constituted the biggest group in the High Emotional Sensitivity range and 90% of patients experienced moderate to severe stress on Perceived Stress Scale. Emotional Sensitivity and Perceived Stress (PS) of maximum number of family members fell within the moderate range and among the neighbors quite a sizable number suffered from Moderate PS (40%). The results of this study point to the need for the health authorities to cater to the psychological well-being of the patients, family members along with the neighbors. Recommendations are thus also provided in this research study.