DOI: 10.36347/sasjm.2022.v08i05.004

Pages: 371-375

Background: Patients with mental illness constitute a population at risk of being easily infected by corona virus (COVID-19), and they can also spread the infection to others by neglecting protective measures. The confrontation of this pandemic depends above all on their adherence to barrier measures, largely affected by their knowledge, perception and practices. Objectives: This work aimed to assess the perception of COVID-19 in patients with mental illness; by conducting a survey on their knowledge, attitudes and practices. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. 118 consultant patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or chronic delusional disorder agreed to participate in the study. It was conducted at the psychiatric university department at Ibn Nafis hospital in Marrakech, during the month of October 2020. We used a pre-established questionnaire. The choice of patients was made given the frequency of perception disorders, cognitive deficit and inappropriate behaviors. Results: The mean age of the participants was 38 years. The majority were male (64%), single (56%), with a low level of education (32%). The patient’s average COVID-19 knowledge score was 9.27, suggesting an overall correct answer rate of 71% on this knowledge test. Almost a quarter of the patients did have a poor knowledge of COVID-19 (30%). Notably, more than half of the patients surveyed (62%) were not aware that there are asymptomatic forms of COVID-19 infection, and that there are no specific treatment or vaccine against COVID-19 currently. Two-thirds of patients (63%) considered COVID-19 infection to be a serious and dangerous illness, twenty-five patients (21%) had given no comments, nine patients (8%) believed that it was a conspiracy, six patients (5%) thought it was a devil and four patients (3%) thought it was a lie. In terms of attitudes, more than half of the patients surveyed had expressed their fear when thinking of COVID-19, and the majority of patients (90%) ...