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The Covid Social Roundtable produced a document proposing a plan to address the scope of mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the text, which collected proposals made by the University of Chile, A National Mental Health Strategy is presented, which addresses its work areas, its objectives and the foci where special attention should be paid. This, due to the consequences that dealing with the pandemic and confinement could have on the population.
The document proposes the participation of different ministries and services, territorial articulation and economic, social and human development to attend to mental health. “The observed and anticipated effects on mental health in this pandemic are varied, of increasing magnitude, occur at multiple levels and affect different dimensions. This is indicated by empirical evidence regarding confinement and social isolation“, it is marked.
Regarding the arguments for preparing this proposal for a National Mental Health Strategy, three are pointed out: “The quality of the effects of the pandemic on mental health, the urgency to prevent, attend and respond collectively and the need for a psychosocial approach”.
The proposal sets out three principles that should guide this national strategy: relax to facilitate (delivery dates, payments, access rules), Make visible to enhance (assess experiences of communities that have already developed creative strategies to face this moment, promoting, for example, forms of distance communication, new recreational activities, strategies for caring for people and for self-education) and regular to protect (ensure that inequality is not accentuated, that abuse and discrimination against vulnerable groups do not increase, ensure people’s wages in the event of the eventual economic crisis, guarantee stability in structural living conditions).
In addition, in the work areas it is recommended to train health personnel in “Psychosocial support”. “It is important to train how to deal with issues of stigma and discrimination in the way contagions and people who have been affected communicate,” he says.
In addition, mention is made of the role of the media in the midst of the pandemic. “It is necessary to address the ethics of the media in how they communicate the pandemic, regulating overinformation and avoiding confrontation between involved social actors ”, says the text.
Regarding the media, the following is added: “It is necessary to clearly, accurately and effectively report the necessary measures to advance in pandemic control, and the reasons underlying such decisions. This helps people to self-manage their behavior in favor of their own health and that of others, avoiding, for example, entering crowds and increasing the use of masks ”.
The document also focuses on various groups of the population. Some of them are the health equipment, because they have “a high risk of psychiatric pathology due to exposure to long hours, the highest risk of infection and even death.”
Also in infected patients, relatives and deceased, given that “the pandemic will generate difficult duels due to the impediment of dismissal”. Along these lines, it is proposed to create “virtual devices that allow families and friends to participate in the funeral rite.”
In this way it is concluded that “the psychosocial component should become a priority cross-cutting axis that permeates all actions in the emergency situation for the effective approach to the pandemic and the reduction of its consequences in the short, medium and long term“
Along these lines, says the strategy of the Mesa Covid, “it is necessary to allocate resources for the implementation of the proposed strategies.”
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