Open AccessMental health professionals as ‘silent frontline healthcare workers’: Perspectives from three South Asian countries
Author(s) -
Sheikh Shoib,
Anoop Krishna Gupta,
Waleed Ahmad,
S. Joseph,
Samrat Singh Bhandarı
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
open journal of psychiatry and allied sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2394-2061
pISSN - 2394-2053
DOI - 10.5958/2394-2061.2021.00019.7
Subject(s) - pandemic , mental health , social distance , health care , medicine , globe , economic shortage , covid-19 , health professionals , masking (illustration) , stressor , scarcity , nursing , psychiatry , disease , economic growth , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology , art , linguistics , philosophy , government (linguistics) , economics , visual arts , ophthalmology , microeconomics
Mental health professionals across the globe foresaw the mental health impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. They have faced scarcity of trained professionals, rising morbidities, lack of protective gear, shortage of psychotropic drugs, and poor rapport building due to masking and social distancing. Amidst all, they have responded with approaches that focus on continuing mental health services to the patients already in care, education of the vulnerable people to help them cope with these stressors, and provide counselling services to patients and families affected by the pandemic.