Flattening the emotional distress curve: A behavioral health pandemic response strategy for COVID-19.

Abstract The global spread of SARS-CoV-2 has shaken our health care and economic systems, prompting re-evaluation of long-held views on how best to deliver care. This is especially the case for our global diagnostic strategy. While current laboratory-based centralized RT-qPCR will continue to serve as a gold standard diagnostic into the foreseeable future, the shortcomings of our dependence on this method have been laid bare. It is now clear that a robust diagnostics pandemic response strategy, like any disaster planning, must include adaptive, diverse and de-centralized solutions. Here we look at how the COVID-19 pandemic, and previous outbreaks, have set the stage for a new innovative phase in diagnostics and a re-thinking of pandemic preparedness.

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Why Do Countries Respond Differently to COVID-19? A Comparative Study of Sweden, China, France, and Japan

The American Review of Public Administration ◽

10.1177/0275074020942445 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (6-7) ◽

pp. 762-769 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Bo Yan ◽

Xiaomin Zhang ◽

Long Wu ◽

Heng Zhu ◽

Bin Chen

Keyword(s):

Cultural Orientation ◽

Response Strategy ◽

Important Public Health ◽

Response Strategies ◽

Policy Choices ◽

Cultural Determinants ◽

National Response ◽

The World ◽

Pandemic Response ◽

Nonpharmaceutical Interventions

Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are important public health tools to fight against COVID-19. Governments around the world have instituted a variety of NPIs to modify individuals’ behavior, giving rise to four distinct pandemic response strategies: nudge, mandate, decree, and boost. To better understand the different policy choices involved in these strategies, four countries including Sweden, China, France, and Japan were compared to identify the critical institutional and cultural determinants of national response strategy. The finding shows that various responses regarding same threat are dependent on the distinctive institutional arrangements and cultural orientation of each country, and thus, there is no One-Size-Fits-All strategy.

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Lockdowns and low- and middle-income countries: building a feasible, effective, and ethical COVID-19 response strategy

Globalization and Health ◽

10.1186/s12992-021-00662-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Oghenowede Eyawo ◽

A. M. Viens ◽

Uchechukwu Chidiebere Ugoji

Keyword(s):

Disease Transmission ◽

Policy Development ◽

Scale Up ◽

High Income ◽

Response Strategy ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Pandemic Response ◽

Restrictive Measures ◽

Low And Middle Income

AbstractLockdowns can be an effective pandemic response strategy that can buy much needed time to slow disease transmission and adequately scale up preventative, diagnostic, and treatment capacities. However, the broad restrictive measures typically associated with lockdowns, though effective, also comes at a cost – imposing significant social and economic burdens on individuals and societies, especially for those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Like most high-income countries (HICs), many LMICs initially adopted broad lockdown strategies for COVID-19 in the first wave of the pandemic. While many HICs experiencing subsequent waves have returned to employing lockdown strategies until they can receive the first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine, many LMICs will likely have to wait much longer to get comparable access for their own citizens. In leaving LMICs vulnerable to subsequent waves for a longer period of time without vaccines, there is a risk LMICs will be tempted to re-impose lockdown measures in the meantime. In response to the urgent need for more policy development around the contextual challenges involved in employing such measures, we propose some strategies LMICs could adopt for safe and responsible lockdown entrance/exit or to avoid re-imposing coercive restrictive lockdown measures altogether.

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Resilience Governance and the Philippines' Pandemic Response Strategy: A Preliminary Assessment

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3875219 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

John Benedict Felices

Keyword(s):

The Philippines ◽

Response Strategy ◽

Preliminary Assessment ◽

Pandemic Response

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Three case studies of community behavioral health support from the US Department of Veterans Affairs after disasters

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10650-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tamar Wyte-Lake ◽

Susan Schmitz ◽

Reginald J. Kornegay ◽

Felix Acevedo ◽

Aram Dobalian

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Emergency Management ◽

Behavioral Health ◽

Case Studies ◽

The United States ◽

Veterans Affairs ◽

Response Strategy ◽

Department Of Veterans Affairs ◽

Health Response ◽

The Us

Abstract Background Community disaster resilience is comprised of a multitude of factors, including the capacity of citizens to psychologically recover. There is growing recognition of the need for public health departments to prioritize a communitywide mental health response strategy to facilitate access to behavioral health services and reduce potential psychological impacts. Due to the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) extensive experience providing trauma-informed behavioral healthcare to its Veterans, and the fact that VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) are located throughout the United States, the VA is well situated to be a key partner in local communities’ response plans. In this study we examined the role the VA can play in a community’s behavioral health response using case studies from three disasters. Methods This study investigated experiences of VA employees in critical emergency response positions (N = 17) in communities where disasters occurred between 2017 and 2019. All respondents were interviewed March–July 2019. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews exploring participants’ experiences and knowledge about VA activities provided to communities following the regional disasters. Data were analyzed using thematic and grounded theory coding methods. Results Respondents underscored VA’s primary mission after a disaster was to maintain continuity of care to Veterans. The majority also described the VA supporting community recovery. Specifically, three recent events provided key examples of VA’s involvement in disaster behavioral health response. Each event showed VA’s integration into local response structures was facilitated by pre-existing emergency management and clinical relationships as well as prioritization from VA leadership to engage in humanitarian missions. The behavioral health interventions were provided by behavioral health teams integrated into disaster assistance centers and non-VA hospitals, VA mobile units deployed into the community, and VA telehealth services. Conclusions Recent disasters have revealed that coordinated efforts between multidisciplinary agencies can strengthen communities’ capacity to respond to mental health needs, thereby fostering resilience. Building relationships with local VAMCs can help expedite how VA can be incorporated into emergency management strategies. In considering the strengths community partners can bring to bear, a coordinated disaster mental health response would benefit from involving VA as a partner during planning.

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