COVID-19 Mental Health Stressors of Health Care Providers in the Pandemic Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment Response (PACER) Intervention (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christa Sato ◽  
Anita Adumattah ◽  
Krisel Maria Abulencia ◽  
Peter Dennis Garcellano ◽  
Alan Tai-Wai Li ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Since the pandemic, more Canadians have reported poorer mental health. A vital group experiencing high level of stressors are health care providers (HCPs) caring for COVID-19 patients, carrying out public health responses, or working with vulnerable populations. The mental health of HCPs are negatively affected by the pandemic, not only at work but also at home and in the community. Intersecting stressors at multiple levels contribute to HCPs’ experiences of fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to explore the pandemic stressors experienced by HCPs at work, at home and in the community before participating in the Pandemic Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment Response (PACER) online intervention. METHODS Informed by a social ecological approach, we use a qualitative reflective approach to engage 74 HCPs in diverse roles. Data were collected during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2020 to February 2021) in Canada. RESULTS Informed by a social ecological framework, five overarching themes were identified in our thematic analysis: 1) personal level stressors that highlight HCPs identities and responsibilities beyond the workplace; 2) interpersonal level stressors from disrupted social relationships; 3) organizational stressors that contributed to unsettled workplaces and moral distress; 4) community and societal stressors attributed to vicarious trauma and emotional labour; and 5) the multilevel and cumulative impacts of COVID-19 stressors on HCPs’ health. CONCLUSIONS COVID-19 is not merely a communicable disease but a social and political phenomenon that intensifies the effects of social inequities. Current understanding of pandemic stressors affecting HCPs is largely partial in nature. While workplace stressors of HCPs are real and intense, they need to be explored and understood in the context of stressors that exist in other domains of HCPs’ lives such as family and community to ensure these experiences are not being silenced by the ‘hero’ discourses or overshadowed by professional demands.

2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402097243
Author(s):  
Deldar Morad Abdulah ◽  
Bayar Mohammed Omar Abdulla ◽  
Pranee Liamputtong

Background: The evidence has shown that children are more susceptible to the emotional effects of traumatic events such as outbreaks with the possible disruption in their daily lives. Aim: In this paper, we discussed the psychological wellbeing of children during the COVID-19 outbreak through the art-based qualitative study using the drawing method among children in Iraqi Kurdistan. Methods: In this qualitative arts-based research study, 15 children aged 6 to 13 years old who were confined at home during the COVID-19 outbreak for at least 1 month were included following obtaining the consent from their parents. The children were asked to draw his/her feelings, reflections, and responses during the COVID-19 on a paper. The children were guided to paint their reflections during the COVID-19 based on the following criteria: if they experienced loneliness, tiredness, insomnia, depression, worry or anxiety, or have behavior changes and their relationship with their parents and other siblings. Results: This study showed that children have a high level of stress at home during the COVID-19 outbreak. The children had great fear about the coronavirus. They experienced loneliness and stress, and felt sad, depressed due to home confinement and social distancing. The possibility of infection by coronavirus has occupied their entire mind. Mental health care providers must take the experiences of children who are caught in this global pandemic seriously and ensure that appropriate care is offered to the children and their parents. Conclusions: The children exhibited a strong feeling of distress, loneliness, and fear during the COVID-19 outbreak. This has implications for mental health care.


Author(s):  
Awad Al-Zaben ◽  
Lina M.K. Al-Ebbini ◽  
Badr Qatashah

In many situations, health care professionals need to evaluate the respiration rate (RR) for home patients. Moreover, when cases are more than health care providers’ capacity, it is important to follow up cases at home. In this paper, we present a complete system that enables healthcare providers to follow up with patients with respiratory-related diseases at home. The aim is to evaluate the use of a mobile phone’s accelerometer to capture respiration waveform from different patients using mobile phones. Whereas measurements are performed by patients themselves from home, and not by professional health care personnel, the signals captured by mobile phones are subjected to many unknowns. Therefore, the validity of the signals has to be evaluated first and before any processing. Proper signal processing algorithms can be used to prepare the captured waveform for RR computations. A validity check is considered at different stages using statistical measures and pathophysiological limitations. In this paper, a mobile application is developed to capture the accelerometer signals and send the data to a server at the health care facility. The server has a database of each patient’s signals considering patient privacy and security of information. All the validations and signal processing are performed on the server side. The patient’s condition can be followed up over a few days and an alarm system may be implemented at the server-side in case of respiration deterioration or when there is a risk of a patient’s need for hospitalization. The risk is determined based on respiration signal features extracted from the received respiration signal including RR, and Autoregressive (AR) moving average (ARMA) model parameters of the signal. Results showed that the presented method can be used at a larger scale enabling health care providers to monitor a large number of patients.


Author(s):  
Muhammad Sami Khan

Pakistan is facing an exorbitant burden of Non-communicable diseases among which Cardiovascular diseases are the most prominent which has not only caused mortality but also posed a big threat on weakened economy and health care system of the country. Amidst of this growing crisis, Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors emerge as a ray of hope by reducing simultaneously the complication and health care expenditure associated with the management of this major mortality-bringing Non-communicable disease. SGLT2 inhibitors, including Dapagliflozin and Empagliflozin, are evidence-based standardized novel anti-diabetic agents tested in cardiovascular outcome trials namely DAPA-HF and EMPEROR-Reduced, when added to standard care in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, provides breakthrough heart failure outcomes and also addresses massive health care expenditures. This novel finding provides an impetus to promote its beneficial effects among health care providers and early implementation. Continuous....


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 590-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Anne Furst ◽  
Jose A Salinas-Perez ◽  
Luis Salvador-Carulla

Objectives: Concerns raised about the appropriateness of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia for people with mental illness have not been given full weight due to a perceived lack of available evidence. In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), one of the pilot sites of the Scheme, mental health care providers across all relevant sectors who were interviewed for a local Atlas of Mental Health Care described the impact of the scheme on their service provision. Methods: All mental health care providers from every sector in the ACT were contacted. The participation rate was 92%. We used the Description and Evaluation of Services and Directories for Long Term Care to assess all service provision at the local level. Results: Around one-third of services interviewed lacked funding stability for longer than 12 months. Nine of the 12 services who commented on the impact of the NDIS expressed deep concern over problems in planning and other issues. Conclusions: The transition to NDIS has had a major impact on ACT service providers. The ACT was a best-case scenario as it was one of the NDIS pilot sites.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S157-S157
Author(s):  
Shabinabegam A M Sheth ◽  
Bhavya Bairy ◽  
Aurobind Ganesh ◽  
Sumi Jain ◽  
Prabhat Chand ◽  
...  

AimsAs per National Mental Health Survey-2015-16, 83 out of 100 people having mental health problems do not have access to care in India. Further, primary health care providers (PCPs) have not been adequately trained in the screening, diagnosis, and initial management of common mental health conditions. There is thus a need to train health care providers at the State level to incorporate mental health into primary health care. In this paper, we report the findings of a collaborative project between the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore India, and the state of Chhattisgarh incorporating mental health into primary care and addressing urban-rural disparities through tele-mentoring.MethodWe assessed the impact of the NIMHANS Extended Community Health Care Outcome (ECHO), an online, blended training program on participants' knowledge and competence (primary outcome) and commitment, satisfaction, and performance (Secondary outcomes) using Moore's evaluation framework. Primary and secondary outcomes were determined through a pre-post evaluation, assessment of trainee participation in the quarterly tele ECHO clinic as well as periodic assignments, respectively.ResultOver ten months of the NIMHANS ECHO program, there was a significant improvement in the participants' knowledge post-ECHO (p < 0.05, t = −3.52). Self-efficacy in diagnosis and management of mental health problems approached significance; p < 0.001. Increased engagement in tele-ECHO sessions was associated with better performance for declarative and procedural knowledge. The attrition rate was low (5 out of 30 dropped out), and satisfaction ratings of the course were high across all fields. The participants reported a 10- fold increase in the number of patients with mental health problems they had seen, following the training. A statistically significant increase in the number of psychotropic drugs prescribed post ECHO with t = −3.295, p = 0.01.ConclusionThe outcomes indicate that the NIMHANS ECHO with high participant commitment is a model with capacity building potential in mental health and addiction for remote and rural areas by leveraging technology. This model has the potential to be expanded to other states in the country in providing mental health care to persons in need of care.


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