The COVID-19 outbreak does make everyone feel 'insecure' when doing activities outside the home. To date, there are 4.7 million confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, with a mortality rate of more than 315,000. For the sake of suppressing this number, various methods are carried out by many countries, ranging from lockdowns to Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) as done by Indonesia. The implementation of the policy requires everyone to work at home when they can.

In Indonesia, the PSBB policy has been in effect for almost two months. Business and school activities are carried out from home. It is undeniable that this condition certainly can make people feel bored and stressed. As a result, people's mental health may suffer. Concerns about work and financial problems are one of the main factors that affect people's mental health. However, not only the general public, medical personnel who struggle to fight this disease can also suffer from the same problem.

As quoted from Medical News Today, a study conducted by Chinese researchers found that medical personnel working on COVID-19 cases exhibited mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. In addition, the results of a study from Italy showed that 49.38% of 1,379 medical personnel observed were known to have symptoms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The results of the study have been published in the MedRxiv journal.

Then, what is PTSD? PTSD is a mental health condition that is triggered by an unpleasant/traumatic event. Those who saw or experienced such incident firsthand had a high risk of PTSD. This mental health disorder causes people to recollect these unpleasant events repeatedly, which results in changes in their behaviour or emotions. For medical personnel, COVID-19 pandemic can put tremendous pressure on them, which can cause trauma. Therefore, mental health care facilities for medical personnel are necessary.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Google Search Images

Source(s):

• Medical News Today - What can healthcare staff do to prevent PTSD during the pandemic? (2020). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-can-healthcare-staff-do-to-prevent-ptsd-during-the-pandemic, 18 May 2020.
• Mayo Clinic - Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (2018). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-can-healthcare-staff-do-to-prevent-ptsd-during-the-pandemic, 18 May 2020.