initiative for psychological support for health workers and community members during the Corona Virus (Covid 19) pandemic.
Proceeding from the importance of providing psychological support to various sectors of society during the Corona Virus (Covid 19) pandemic, the Psychological Support Team and the School Health Department of the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with a number of volunteers in the field of mental health, prepared an initiative and program for psychological support during the Corona Virus pandemic to include both Of the existing cases in isolation and treatment centers and health workers in particular in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In light of the spread of the Corona virus around the world, which caused a global health crisis, the Kingdom of Bahrain has implemented pioneering steps in the field of response and prevention, which made it a role model in health systems in the implementation of precautionary measures and the efficiency of dealing with these circumstances.
For her part, Dr. Iman Ahmed Haji, head of the School Health Department at the Public Health Department and supervisor of mental health services in primary care, said that this pandemic has exposed many to psychological pressure and tension, especially for workers on the front lines of the health sector. Noting that the statistics contained in a study conducted by the Republic of China (2020) on the category of health sector workers during the Corona Virus pandemic indicated that 71.5% of workers suffer from stress, while 50.4% of them suffer from symptoms of depression, and the study also showed that 44.6% of them have symptoms of anxiety and 34% suffer from insomnia.
Dr. Iman Haji explained that the initiative of the Ministry of Health, which was launched since last March, aims primarily to contribute to reducing psychological stress during the period of crises, while working to provide psychological support to health workers and existing cases in isolation and treatment centers, in addition to working to raise the level of awareness of citizens. About how to deal with these circumstances.
The work team and participants in implementing this program include the mental health team from the School Health Department of the Public Health Department and the Psychiatric Hospital, in addition to the participation of a number of volunteer individuals.
Dr. Iman Hajji indicated that within the framework of psychological support provided to health workers, work has been done to provide a psychological support hotline to allow workers to communicate with psychological consultants when needed. The team also organizes special field campaigns for front-line workers in order to provide psychological support to them through the application of relaxation exercises and the prevention of job burnout, in addition to providing psychological counseling from a distance.
As for psychological support for community members, it includes spreading awareness messages about mental health for various social groups, various instructions on how to deal with children in such circumstances, how to deal with “panic attacks” and providing psychological discharge training with a hotline to receive cases and provide psychological support appropriate for them.
As for the category of psychological support provided to cases in isolation and treatment centers, in this regard, lists of cases from various centers in the Kingdom of Bahrain are followed up, psychological advice, treatment and psychological support for referrals to centers and transfer of what is needed to the Psychiatric Hospital and Salmaniya Medical Complex.
