Mental health conditions such as anxiety and mood-related disorders increased dramatically during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to an Adolescent Psychiatrist of the Psychiatry Department at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Dr. Pearl Adu Nyarko, COVID-19 had a detrimental effect on people’s mental health, particularly in children whose language development was hampered by their frequent use of nose masks.
“Because of COVID-19, the instances of mental health conditions have gone up. For instance, anxiety and mood related disorders have gone up in children and adults. We notice a significant contribution of COVID-19 to language development because we were wearing face masks,” revealed the Psychiatrist.
The KATH Psychiatry department has in the past one year recorded an increase in the mental health cases. Close to 1,500 mental health cases were recorded at the hospital, with male children forming the majority of the numbers.
Frequent cases include Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), followed by Autism Spectrum Disorder, Epilepsy and other mood disorders.
Dr. Adu Nyarko prevailed on the government to institute conducive measures for the healthy mental status of the population.
“Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders are with us. We need as a country to wake up and look at our educational policies, sustainable development goals, alleviation of poverty and access to information, encouraging positive parenting and learning environment that would enable the brain of Ghanaian to develop so we can get most of our population,” she emphasized.
Dr. Adu Nyarko observed an increase in the number of reported cases due to more awareness created on mental health by the Psychiatric Association of Ghana.
“Because of the advocacy we are seeing more people coming,” she said.
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Society of Ghana (CAMHSOG) has been collaborating with the PAG to bring together professionals and other players who offer mental healthcare to children and teenagers.