Healthcare Workers Require Psychosocial Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Presented to

Northern Luzon Adventist College

Artacho, Sison, Pangasinan

For the Course in

The Contemporary World

By

Tabarnilla, Holyver Angelo M.

Gutierrez, Rionel John Casayuran

BSN-1
I. Introduction and Rationale of the research

This article will compile some of the most recent recommendations for sustaining
mental health throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, with an emphasis on frontline
healthcare professionals. It places these suggestions in the context of a staged model
of mental health burden and responses, building on the work of the Intensive Care
Society (2020) and the Royal College of Psychiatrists (Williams et al., 2020). This
model, we believe, depicts how people and organizations might respond to stressors
that may arise during the pandemic's preparation, pre-, initial and core-, and longer-
term stages. These suggestions are based on the clinical experiences of two of the
writers, GL and BD-W, and are based on relevant psychological literature. This
article is primarily intended for front-line healthcare workers and management.

First, we'll go over some of the reasons of mental health stress for employees. Then
we briefly discuss Chinese staff experiences and interventions, before listing a variety
of feasible psychosocial interventions and highlighting some essential concepts that
can be taken from them. Finally, the phased model of mental health load and
responses is presented.

Rationale of the Research

Currently, the globe is dealing with a pandemic and medical catastrophe that has not
been experienced in over a century. Those operating on the front lines are thus
exposed to a multitude of mental health stressors, as listed below:

• The risk of virus infection; adherence to biosecurity measures such as continual

attention, equipment use, and isolation techniques; patient-staff tensions; and the
stigmatization of healthcare professionals who come into contact with COVID-19
patients (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2020).

• There's a lot of uncertainty. This causes anxiety and stress (Shanafelt et al., 2020).
Staff with high job demands (heavy workload, time pressure, times of intense
concentration) but low work control are more stressed (low levels of autonomy and
decision-making input). When stressors are viewed as roadblocks, motivation and
performance suffer. Uncertain objectives, contradictory requests, red tape,
organizational politics, and a variety of other work-related annoyances are examples
of roadblocks (Bolino, 2020).
 II. Literature Review

COVID-19, a novel corona virus illness, was first detected in people in December 2019 in
Wuhan, China. The condition is found in people who have been infected with the coronavirus 2
that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). The coronavirus is spread via
droplets, which are often found in coughs and sneezes. This can happen directly between persons
or by indirect contact with the mouth, nose, or eyes. SARS-CoV-2 has spread fast over the
world, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the epidemic a pandemic in
March 2020. 2020b). There were 16,341,920 cases and 650,805 fatalities worldwide as of July
29, 2020.

We've added to this advice by combining mental health knowledge to provide their
recommendations more context, as well as practical tips for corporations and individual
employees. We've added a preparatory phase and integrated the initial and core phases, as well as
the end and long-term phases, to the phases established by the intensive care society,
understanding that while these stages are linear, the entire process is cyclical and not rigid or
fixed. We've included a phase of preparedness because different organizations and countries are
dealing with the pandemic at different stages; nonetheless, many worldwide healthcare providers
may have already passed this stage.

Our goal is to provide practical mental health support and advise to a variety of frontline
personnel and organizations operating on the front lines of this global pandemic around the
world. The advise is created in response to the possibility of a second wave or future pandemic
affecting services. Figure 1 shows a flow chart that summarizes the staged advise and practical
suggestions. Each phase will be covered in greater depth in the text.

Research Questions

I. How Can Staff and Organizations Respond to Different Phases of the COVID-19
Pandemic?
II. How can Government Organizations helped those health care workers amidst of
covid 19 pandemic?

III. Research Questions

Before, during, and after the COVID-19 epidemic, the Intensive Care Society (UK)
recommends numerous helpful ways of thinking about sustaining staff mental health
(Intensive Care Society, 2020). Hospitals should consider where their organization
stands in respect to the pandemic's phases, as well as the challenges and
consequences that these phases will inevitably bring, as well as the recommended
approaches to these phases.
 We've supplemented this advise by integrating mental health expertise with practical
solutions for businesses and individual employees to give their recommendations
more context. The initial and core phases, as well as the end and long-term phases,
have been added to the phases established by the intensive care society, with the
awareness that while these stages are linear, the entire process is cyclical and not rigid
or fixed. Because different organizations and countries are dealing with the pandemic
at different phases, we've added a phase of preparedness; nevertheless, many global
healthcare providers may have already passed this stage.

Our mission is to give practical mental health support and guidance to a wide range of
frontline workers and organizations working on the front lines of this global
pandemic all over the world. The recommendation was made in the event of a second
wave or future pandemic disrupting services. A flow chart depicting the staged advice
and practical solutions is shown in Figure 1. The book will go over each phase in
greater detail.

IV. Scope and delimitations

Staff resilience and wellness strategies should be supported. These should be aware of
the pressures that can arise in healthcare on a daily basis, but especially how they are
amplified in situations like these. These plans, which should be created by team
leaders, should include stress causes, current coping strategies, early symptoms of
distress (change in baseline), and how they or other team members may assist.
Wellbeing plans could incorporate a parachute analogy, in which leaders construct a
plan, similar to the weaving of a parachute, to soften and protect individuals in crisis
situations like this, rather than waiting until it's too late, thereby taking a proactive
rather than reactive approach. As the outbreak unfolds, encourage personnel to make
new mental health disclosures.

Research Methodology

Things are unlikely to return to normal once the COVID-19 outbreak has gone. You'll
probably be thinking about what happened and how you reacted. Make sure you stay
in touch with your coworkers and share your experiences. It's natural and
understandable to be upset after your encounter. This is especially true if you've been
transferred to a new position or redeployed to a new work environment with
unfamiliar routines, norms, and coworkers. New information received through our
senses is absorbed into existing memory networks, according to the Adaptive
Information Processing paradigm (AIP). This enables us to make meaning of the
information in the future when we recollect it. It's critical to give oneself time to
integrate new information into your old cognitive systems (memory networks).

Rather of psychiatric debriefing, the most recent guidance for the assessment and
treatment of trauma recommends "watchful waiting" (National Institute for Health
and Care Excellence, 2018). This is due to the fact that many people who have been
exposed to trauma do not develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Without
official assistance, the majority of people recover from early traumatic stress
symptoms (Grey, 2009). However, a small percentage of people may experience
symptoms, therefore it's critical to notice them. Prior trauma, prior health
requirements, inadequate coping mechanisms, and negative appraisal are all pre-,
peri-, and post-factors that increase the likelihood of PTSD, according to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version 5 (DSM-V) (American
Psychiatric Association, 2013). As a result, you should keep using the tactics that
have proven to be effective for you. Observe and note changes in sleep patterns,
feelings of unreality or disconnection, and re-experiencing past events.

Conclusions

Hospitals and healthcare providers may do a lot to help healthcare workers deal with
mental health issues. Early evidence from China, and more recently from Europe,
suggests that healthcare workers will likely suffer poor mental health consequences as
a result of the pandemic and their jobs. The purpose of this article is to provide a
roadmap to managing the mental health burden of the clinical staff in order to support
their mental health and organizational responses. The COVID-19 pandemic's phased
model of mental health burden and responses might be a useful guide for both
personnel and organizations during various stages of the pandemic. Organizations and
people who use this model in whole or in part should conduct a sufficiently powered
evaluation of both staff and organizational outcomes. This would aid in the
development of a body of evidence supporting the model's integration into routine
practice or the modification of signposting.

REFERENCES

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http://www.nhc.gov.cn/xcs/yqfkdt/202002/16
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