Meanings of hope constructed by users of mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sarah Salvador Pereira, Angélica Martins de Souza Gonçalves, Simone Teresinha Protti-Zanatta and 3 others
PMID 40179434WHAT IT FOUND
Users of specialized mental health services described hope as faith, solidarity, recovery from illness, and personal resilience.
Some said the pandemic worsened substance use or depression, and some said they had no goals.
Key findings
01The users' interviews produced themes of religion or spirituality, solidarity, illness and cure, and resilience.
02Some users linked hope to faith in God or Jesus and expectation of a better future.
03Some users described hope as freedom from relapse, while others described courage or resilience.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 14 users from four services in an inland city were interviewed, so themes may not represent other mental health services or countries. Most participants were women, 10 women and 4 men, so male perspectives may be missing. Data collection occurred from August 2022 to May 2023, after vaccination had started and the public health emergency had ended, so it may not capture earlier pandemic experiences. Users who could not understand interviews or were intoxicated or in a psychotic episode were excluded, so people in acute crisis may not be represented. The study describes meanings and did not test an intervention or measure outcomes, so it cannot show that focusing on hope improves mental health.
Declared interests
The only declaration given is partial funding from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPQ, process 401923/2024-0.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these hope themes as evidence that a hope-focused intervention improves mental health. The study interviewed 14 users and describes meanings only; it did not test an intervention or measure outcomes.