María José Campo Rodas
Has mental health care improved since the Covid-19 pandemic started?
Introduction
First of all, it is worth considering that we are facing a global pandemic since March 2020,
it not only led to a sanitary emergency, deaths and crowded hospitals it also brought as well
abrupt economic, political and social changes. Diverse studies and polls demonstrated that
mental health care deteriorated as a consequence of the sanitary emergency. For this
reason, the global pandemic has unquestionably led to mental health care struggles.
Causes
There are myriad ways the pandemic has let to mental health issues, one of the foremost
reasons is the mandatory social isolation because of the humanitarian crisis. An extensive
body of research links social isolation and loneliness to poor mental and physical health.
Being lonely before COVID-19 times became a public health concern given its association
with an increased risk of suffering mental illnesses or physical health problems. According
to a tracking poll made in late March 2020 by KFF, right after stay-at-home requirements,
detected that those sheltering-in-place were more presumably to register negative mental
health effects, caused by worry or stress associated to coronavirus in comparison with those
not sheltering-in-place.
Consequences
COVID-19 pandemic has impacted negatively mental health and has created a new barrier
for the people who already had mental illnesses and substance use irregularities. It also
created concerns about suicidal ideation. According to a KFF survey, In January of the last
year (2021) 41% of adults noted symptoms of anxiety or depression. In an additional survey
from June 2020, 13% of adults reported suicidal thoughts during the end of January 2021
and the beginning of February of the same year. Suicide rates increased lately and probably
worsen because of COVID-19.
Global perspective
The pandemic had a pessimistic affection on mental health services in 130 of the countries
worldwide, while the demand for mental health care is increasing pursuant to a WHO survey
published ahead of WHO´s Big Event for Mental Health, a global online advocacy event that
calls for increased mental health investments during COVID-19 times. The survey offers the
first global data displaying evidence of the perverse affection of COVID-19 on access to
mental health help services. As the sanitary emergency increased mortality rates, the fact
of losing a beloved one, the isolation, the loss of income and fear are leading to mental
health conditions. According to Dr Adhanom (2020), Director-General of the World Health
Organization an adequate mental health is entirely indispensable to wellbeing and health,
COVID-19 has disrupted fundamental mental health services all over the world, precisely
when they are most required. World leaders need to proceed quickly and conclusive to invest
more in life-saving mental health strategies throughout the pandemic and further on.
National perspective
On the other hand, one of the countries that implemented a course of action and created a
strategy for mental health care and services is Finland. The plan of the National Mental
Health Strategy and Suicide Prevention Agenda 2020-2030 presents taking the
measurements of initiating a new suicide prevention programme and increasing mental
health services in schools. As well as presenting psychosocial strategies that contextualize
people of psychological aspects and the social circumstances starting with the common
disorders, including services of attention and prevention of depression, anxiety and other
affections. School services could be provided by psychiatric unit workers to achieve mental
issues in young ages. The new initiative for suicide prevention calls for supplying
comprehensive low threshold crisis services in all the nation, to get an effective access for
people at risk of committing suicide and designing a legislation to reduce access to
mechanisms and methods for suicide. More over to these legislation and measures, the plan
is demanding for more research data and timely statistical on the location, age and method
of suicide in the presented cases for improving the prevention of this type of situations.
Evaluation of sources
information from sources such as KFF, The National Mental Health Strategy and Programme
for Suicide Prevention 2020–2030 and WHO (Word Health Organization) provide current
information that is entirely relevant to the topic. All of them have not biased data supported
with facts, statistics, polls and experts’ perspective about the problematic. Whereas one of
the sources has not a specific author’s name but it says that it was made by the Finnish
government´s ministry of social affairs and health.
Course of action
As a course of action, I would transmit the importance of mental health care and suicide
prevention in schools. It is fundamental for us to learn at young ages about situations that
put us in risk and to acquire enough consciousness to ask and get help. I will make an online
survey to students from middle and high school from Gimnasio la Colina, to determine if the
pandemic has affected their mental health. Based on the results, I will design an assemblyconference made by a professional for the students having mental health care and
prevention as the main topic. This will be an open space for them to ask and get informed.
Conclusion
Taking into account all the standpoints from above I come to the conclusion that mental
health care didn´t improve at all since the Covid-19 pandemic, as we could evidence in the
previous mentioned statistics and facts, it even got worse in most of the countries around
the world except for the earlier on mentioned, Finland. A possible solution and course of
action is one that depends more on each one of us: creating mental health care awareness
in the education sector, having students with enough knowledge capacity to identify or
otherwise prevent mental health illnesses and suicide. After making the previous
investigation process, I could obtain knowledge about how abrupt changes caused by the
global pandemic were not only related to physical health, but they also dramatically
impacted mental health. Getting clear contrasting perspectives of the situation by the
perverse global impact and also emphasizing a country´s situation that has a purpose in
favour of mental health care.
Bibliography
Ministry of social affairs and health (2020). National Mental Health Strategy and Programme for
Suicide Prevention 2020–2030. Publications of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/162234/STM_2020_15.pdf
Panchal (et. al.), (February 10, 2021) The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and
Substance Use. KFF. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-ofcovid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/
Quaglia S. (January 4, 2022) The Pandemic Raised Mental Health Awareness. Will It Last? Very well
health.https://www.verywellhealth.com/pandemic-mental-health-awareness-5213655
World Health Organization (October 5, 2020) COVID-19 disrupting mental health services in most
countries, WHO survey. https://www.who.int/news/item/05-10-2020-covid-19-disruptingmental-health-services-in-most-countries-who-survey