By Tat Bellamy-Walker -
NBC News
Latino relatives of COVID -19 patients in the ICU are at higher risk of developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than other groups, according to a study published Monday by the JAMA network.
The results reveal that relatives of Latinos with coronavirus in the ICU are more likely to experience symptoms associated with PTSD.
Hispanics made up almost 30% of the study participants.
The results were collected during the start of the pandemic in 2020, when many family members were prohibited from visiting patients due to distancing protocols to prevent spread.
At the time, many families relied on healthcare workers to feel connected to their sick relatives.
However, the study found that Latino families often lacked this kind of support.
Fewer Latinos - 11.8% - reported acts of compassion from medical staff, compared to nearly 35% of non-Latino participants.
A respiratory therapist treats a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at Rush University Medical Center on January 31, 2022 in Chicago.Getty Images
"These very special and unique actions of what we call acts of compassion or acts of kindness mattered a lot to people," study co-author Lauren Jodi Van Scoy told NBC News in a phone call.
"Unfortunately, in the Hispanic group, they were less likely or less common to be reported."
The researchers say that Latinos also experienced higher levels of mistrust of medical staff due to a lack of in-person visits.
Although experts aren't sure why Latinos are more affected by PTSD symptoms, they say bias and a lack of culturally competent medical care may play a role.
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"Those who are Hispanic tend to use bedside physical contact much more frequently than those who are not," study co-author Timothy Amass said in an interview, referring to earlier research.
"I think this could be used as an example of something that was taken away with the restriction of visits during the initial phase of the pandemic."
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Amass added, “Given both the social context of the early days of the pandemic [and] the historical trust challenges with different racial and ethnic groups with the health care system, I think this really exacerbated that and may have impacted that. disproportionately to Hispanics.”
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According to the researchers, acts of kindness from medical staff can protect family members in the long term from stressors such as post-traumatic stress disorder following illness in a family member.
"There is a possible scope," Amass said.
"What this study shows is that we know that individuals of Hispanic ethnicity are associated with higher rates of PTSD, that's a target population that we need to pay attention to."
