Community Mental Health Interventions during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted or halted critical community mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) survey [1]. This comes at a time when an essential part of the strategy for tackling the COVID-19 infection has been self-isolation and social distancing to protect from the risk of infection and minimize spread. It is important that the population’s mental health as well as physical health is prioritized at this time. Many people are understandably worried by the current situation and may feel frightened of COVID-19, confused, anxious, or low. Others have suffered deterioration in pre-existing mental illness, while some developed new mental health issues related to lock-down rules and restrictions applied across many countries. During such times, the symptoms of depression and anxiety can often go undetected, but the impact on an individual and their loved ones must not be underestimated. We report on changes implemented in our Primary care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic to help address mental health issues in the community. Screening of all patients for anxiety and depression using the validated tools of Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD2) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ2) questionnaires at every clinical encounter with a doctor or nurse enabled early identification of mental health concerns, and appropriate early support. Additionally, availability of easy and no-cost accessible Mental Health telephone helplines during the COVID-19 pandemic helped reduce the mental health implications caused by the lack of face to face access to Primary care services.