A new scale for measuring the psychological safety of patients has been developed at the University of Strathclyde.
Researchers devised the scale, consisting of 29 items, to assess how safe a person feels. It is further divided into three sub-scales of Social Engagement, Compassion and Bodily Sensations.
COVID malaise, and more COVID-19 coping tips from the trenches
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I write this now as both a time capsule and a vision of hope at the bitter end of 2020. At this point, a COVID-19 vaccine (the vision of hope) has been developed by several companies but has not yet received widespread distribution. Realistically, I know we are in for more quarantines, social distancing, and mask-wearing for at least another 9 to 12 months (sorry!).
My clinical work in psychiatry has gotten busier and more complex as COVID-19 ravages through everything. Patients are demoralized, describing a fairly consistent pattern of physical/emotional responses, which I will refer to as “COVID malaise.” Disclaimer: these findings are based on an informal “grounded theory” of listening to hundreds of patient stories over the past year. I did not provide the patients questionnaires: I listened to their narratives and wrote down recurring themes.