VoluntariaMente: o impacto do papel social individual na melhoria da saúde mental
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v41i4.14133Keywords:
Saúde mental, Ansiedade, Depressão, Voluntariado, Cuidados de saúde primáriosAbstract
Introdução: As patologias de saúde mental estão entre os problemas de saúde mais comuns em todo o mundo, sendo uma causa importante de morbilidade e isolamento social. Este trabalho teve como objetivo implementar um projeto de intervenção com pessoas que sofrem de ansiedade e/ou depressão, com o intuito de melhorar os seus índices de depressão e ansiedade.
Métodos: Pacientes de uma Unidade de Saúde Familiar portuguesa, medicados com ansiolíticos e/ou antidepressivos para tratar os seus transtornos de ansiedade e/ou depressão, foram selecionados e integrados num projeto de voluntariado que durou um ano. Os sintomas de ansiedade foram medidos pela Escala de Ansiedade de Hamilton e os índices de depressão foram quantificados pelo Questionário de Saúde do Paciente-9, antes e depois da intervenção.
Resultados: Foram selecionados 33 participantes e 25 foram incluídos no projeto. A maioria era mulheres, com mais de 50 anos, tendo realizado uma média de 48 horas de voluntariado. Houve uma redução estatisticamente significativa nos níveis de ansiedade e/ou depressão após a intervenção, independentemente do número de horas de voluntariado realizado.
Conclusões: Sugere-se que o trabalho voluntário qualificado e acompanhado pode ajudar a reduzir os índices de ansiedade e depressão.
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