Planning for Mental Health Needs During COVID-19
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MILITARY MENTAL HEALTH (E MEYER, SECTION EDITOR)
Planning for Mental Health Needs During COVID-19 Rachel H. Han 1 & Morgan N. Schmidt 2 & Wendi M. Waits 1 & Alexa K. C. Bell 3 & Tashina L. Miller 1 Accepted: 17 September 2020 # This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply 2020
Abstract Purpose of Review The ability to effectively prepare for and respond to the psychological fallout from large-scale disasters is a core competency of military mental health providers, as well as civilian emergency response teams. Disaster planning should be situation specific and data driven; vague, broad-spectrum planning can contribute to unprepared mental health teams and underserved patient populations. Herein, we review data on mental health sequelae from the twenty-first century pandemics, including SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19), and offer explanations for observed trends, insights regarding anticipated needs, and recommendations for preliminary planning on how to best allocate limited mental health resources. Recent Findings Anxiety and distress, often attributed to isolation, were the most prominent mental health complaints during previous pandemics and with COVID-19. Additionally, post-traumatic stress was surprisingly common and possibly more enduring than depression, insomnia, and alcohol misuse. Predictions regarding COVID-19’s economic impact suggest that depression and suicide rates may increase over time. Summary Available data suggest that the mental health sequelae of COVID-19 will mirror those of previous pandemics. Clinicians and mental health leaders should focus planning efforts on the negative effects of isolation, particularly anxiety and distress, as well as post-traumatic stress symptoms. Keywords Disaster psychiatry . Mental health . Pandemics . COVID-19 . Data-informed planning
Introduction Although the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic initially resulted in roughly 1000 new COVID-19-related listings each week on the PubMed.gov website, very few of these publications addressed the practical matter of how mental health providers and leaders should specifically plan for the post-pandemic mental health tsunami that many predict is inevitable [1]. The purpose of this article, written from the perspective of military medical planners, is to present available data on the prevalence of specific mental health concerns This article is part of the Topical collection on Military Mental Health * Rachel H. Han [email protected] 1
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Behavioral Health Consultation and Education, 8960 Brown Drive, Building 7 Room 5309, Bethesda, MD 20889, USA
2
Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
3
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
and conditions from previous recent pandemics and COVID19, as well as to provide data-informed recommendations for meeting the psychological needs of affected individuals.
Background Historically, pandemics have had significant ramifications f
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