Reducing anxiety and depression in a patient with severe COVID-19 pneumonia through occupational participation: A case study

Abstract

The purpose of this report is occupation-based practice for a patient with severe respiratory failure due to advanced COVID-19 pneumonia, who presented with anxiety and depression after coming off the ventilator. Occupational therapy focused on occupations that were valuable to him, analyzed the factors that affected his participation in occupations with reference to the MOHO perspective, and intervened. During hospitalization, his respiratory condition deteriorated, and he was once again put on a ventilator. However, he began to smile as we provided him with valuable tasks such as emailing and reading in bed; his anxiety and depression decreased. The results suggest that occupational therapists have an important role to play in the acute phase of occupation-focused occupational therapy for patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.