The Racial and Ethnic Differences in Impact and Knowledge of COVID-19 among Patients with Psychiatric Illnesses

COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Individuals with mental illnesses are disproportionately affected by additional complex health issues. This study aims to examine the knowledge and impact of COVID-19 among patients with mental disorders at the Harris County Psychiatric Center (HCPC). A retrospective review of surveys conducted for patients with mental illness at HCPC. Participants were surveyed on demographics, COVID-19 knowledge, and COVID-19 healthcare impact. The data was analyzed with SPSS 20 for Windows at a 0.05 significance level. A total of 46 patients were included in the study. We found that the patient population with mental disorders has different methods of obtaining information regarding COVID-19 and practices varying safety measures. To be precise, more women (52.2%) than men (21.7%) learned about COVID-19 through family and friends [p=0.032]. More Hispanic (21.4%) compared to non-Hispanic (0%) patients learned about COVID-19 through resources from the World Health Organization (WHO) [p=0.032]. Fewer African American (AA) patients avoided contact with people who were sick (39% vs. 81% Caucasian [p=0.01] and 100% Asian/Native American/Pacific Islander [ANAPI] patients [p=0.04]). We found more non-Hispanic (50.0%) vs. Hispanic (7.1%) patients reported that their personal time (time outside of work) was unchanged by COVID-19 [p=0.007]. More Hispanic (57.1%) vs. non-Hispanic (17.9%) patients reported increased time with family members [p=0.009]. Compared to Hispanic patients, more non-Hispanic patients reported unchanged difficulty scheduling appointments (46.4% vs. 7.1%) [p=0.015], obtaining prescription (71.4% vs. 35.7%) [p=0.045], and finding housing placement (53.6% vs. 21.4%) [p=0.047]. Furthermore, more Caucasian compared to AA patients reported more changes in how they feel (35.7% vs. 76.2%) [p=0.033], anxiety (52.6% vs. 0%) [p=0.002], stress (47.4% vs. 7.7%) [p=0.024], and sadness (30% vs. 0%) [p=0.031]. Finally, more ANAPI (67%) compared to AA patients (0%) reported increased anxiety [p=0.025]. Our findings suggest that African American patients report less knowledge of COVID-19 prevention and less impact on their mental health by the pandemic compared to other racial groups. Our findings suggest that African American patients may have limited knowledge of COVID-19 prevention compared to other races, Caucasian and Asian/Native American/Pacific Islander patients may have increased mood changes, and Hispanic patients may be experiencing more healthcare inequality amidst the pandemic. However, further investigation of the impending ramifications of the pandemic is warranted.