Defining COVID-19 as a Disaster Helps Guide Public Mental Health Policy.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
; 14(4): e44-e45, 2020 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-711995
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues to be a devastating chapter in history. The consequences of the pandemic unfold daily and they extend beyond physical health. Current research suggests that it is a public mental health crisis. With regard to the physical effects of COVID-19, policy-makers have drawn from past experiences, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003, to craft unique responses. A similar approach must be taken to address the mental health effects of the pandemic. Because COVID-19 can fit the definitions of a mental health disaster, it can be addressed using the principles of disaster mental health management. This letter to the editor presents arguments for defining COVID-19 as a mental health disaster, the challenges facing policy-makers in addressing it as such, and calls upon researchers to fill this gap in the literature.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Public Health
/
Disasters
/
COVID-19
/
Mental Health Services
Type of study:
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Disaster Med Public Health Prep
Journal subject:
Public Health
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Dmp.2020.301
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