In this research, a complete of 20 individuals took half, comprising 8 females (40%) and 12 males (60%). The imply age of the individuals was 48.5 years, starting from 35 to 64 years. Educational backgrounds diversified, with one participant holding a grasp’s diploma and one possessing a postdoctoral diploma. The remaining individuals have been medical specialists with doctoral levels (Table 1). Due to geographical distances, interviews with three individuals have been performed nearly. The interviews lasted 45 to 60 min, with a mean period of 52 min. All interviews have been performed in Persian. The research was performed between August 2021 and June 2022.
Table 1 Demographic traits of individuals in qualitative researchTable 2 Results of the evaluation of individuals’ knowledge relating to psychological well being preparedness and response methods throughout epidemics/pandemics
Policy-making, planning, and preparedness
This class encompassed all of the actions that have to be taken prematurely to scale back harm and guarantee essential preparedness within the discipline of psychological well being throughout epidemics. This important class composes 4 subcategories as follows:
Mental well being governance
The individuals recognized the governance of psychological well being as one of many efficient methods for an acceptable response. With psychological well being governance, the targets of the group and the suitable construction for attaining these targets, together with related legal guidelines and laws, are established. Mental well being ought to govern all ranges and dimensions of the health-related organizations, and the influence of psychological components on particular person and societal well being needs to be acknowledged as a precedence. For instance, participant quantity 5, a well being psychologist, said:
Policy-making and legal guidelines
Developing clear insurance policies and legal guidelines for psychological well being throughout epidemics is taken into account a technique for lowering harm and getting ready for an acceptable response. The individuals emphasised the necessity for clear insurance policies. Participant quantity 11, a medical psychologist, said: “There needs to be clear insurance policies within the discipline of psychological well being throughout well being crises, and this challenge needs to be promoted in all well being insurance policies of the nation, and clear legal guidelines needs to be formulated.”
Planning
The individuals emphasised the significance of planning for an acceptable response throughout the preparedness part as one of many essential components. Participant quantity 4, a specialist in well being in disasters and emergencies, expressed the next:
“A complete response plan needs to be thought-about earlier than the outbreak of communicable ailments. Given the constraints of assets, planning needs to be accomplished with a full understanding of capacities and infrastructure. Preparedness actions needs to be taken to offer an acceptable response throughout epidemics.”
Proper planning ensures that psychological well being companies are seamlessly built-in into the general well being response, addressing each fast and long-term wants. This proactive strategy helps mitigate the influence of the epidemic on psychological well being, offering structured and well timed assist to affected people and communities.
Training and train
Training and exercising preparedness packages earlier than the incidence of main epidemics are important for an acceptable response, they usually have been among the many proposed options by the individuals. Participant quantity 15, a Psychiatrist, said:
“Training of personnel and conducting workout routines for psychological well being packages earlier than the outbreak of communicable ailments is critical so that every one responsive organizations can perform successfully. Training and sensible workout routines needs to be up to date to keep up a excessive degree of preparedness for personnel and organizations.”
Response methods
This class represented the options supplied by the individuals for an acceptable psychological well being response throughout epidemics, together with:
Command and management
Participants expressed the necessities of commanding in responding to emergency conditions. The presence of unified management is essential for built-in administration, offering a framework for varied organizations to work successfully collectively and synchronize their actions. Participant #1, a specialist in well being in disasters and emergencies, expressed:
Effective command and management not solely streamline the decision-making course of but additionally make sure that all organizations concerned within the response are aligned of their efforts, thereby enhancing the general effectiveness of the psychological well being response throughout epidemics.
Human assets
The individuals recognized the human assets administration and group as essentially the most crucial precept for an acceptable response. They emphasised the significance of supporting responders throughout the response part. Participant quantity 6, a medical psychologist, said: “Healthcare employees have been below troublesome situations, with heavy and steady work shifts, restrictions on interactions with household and associates, and considerations about contracting and transmitting the virus, inflicting them to endure important stress. Taking measures to make sure an ample workforce for service supply, acceptable work shifts, and offering gear to keep up the protection of workers are essential. Managers ought to attend to the varied bodily and psychological wants of responders.”
Ensuring the wellbeing of healthcare employees not solely helps in sustaining their effectivity but additionally prevents burnout, thereby bettering the general response to psychological well being challenges throughout epidemics.
Financial assets
Provision and group of economic assets have been highlighted as important components of the response methods, emphasizing the necessity for provision of economic assets and their equitable distribution. Participant quantity 20, a specialist in well being in disasters and emergencies, said:
“In the realm of psychological well being, given its costliness, there’s a want for monetary provision and funding. To obtain most effectivity with minimal hurt, there have to be fairness in allocating each massive and small-scale assets.” Moreover, Participant quantity 10, as a well being psychologist, stated:
“It is important to take critically the supply of insurance coverage protection for psychological well being companies within the nation, making certain that it results in a diminished monetary burden on the general public. Additionally, supporting the non-public sector, which gives psychological well being companies, and addressing their considerations are additionally essential.” Ensuring that monetary assets are adequately supplied and equitably distributed is important for sustaining the continuity and high quality of psychological well being companies, particularly throughout crises.
Infrastructures
The individuals emphasised the necessity to strengthen and improve the present infrastructure of group psychological well being for the supply of psychological well being companies throughout the response part. Participant quantity 2, a psychiatric nurse, expressed:
“Increasing capability is essential throughout epidemic response. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) possess important capacities on the grassroots degree. These capacities might be utilized for educating the general public and leveraging their capabilities and assets in occasions of response.”
Moreover, Participant quantity 6, a medical psychiatric, stated: “It is important to make the most of and strengthen the present infrastructure for delivering the meant companies, and there’s no must create new constructions. For occasion, contemplating the dear presence of the Primary Health Care (PHC) construction in our nation, it’s essential to strengthen psychological well being companies in major healthcare.”
Utilizing and enhancing present infrastructures ensures a extra environment friendly and coordinated response to psychological well being wants throughout epidemics, leveraging already established methods and assets. This strategy maximizes the effectiveness of response efforts by using the capacities already current inside organizations and communities.
Monitoring and analysis
The individuals emphasised the importance of each conducting analysis and monitoring psychological well being throughout all phases—pre-epidemic, epidemic, and post-epidemic—as essential response methods, together with the institution of centralized monitoring facilities and the utilization of digital well being data. These measures can facilitate real-time monitoring of psychological well being indicators and developments, permitting for well timed interventions and changes in response methods. Participant quantity 13, a Psychiatrist, highlighted the need of sturdy psychological well being surveillance methods, stressing the significance of efficient monitoring mechanisms. He said:
“It is critical to strengthen psychological well being surveillance methods for varied societal teams by the Ministry of Health. These methods ought to embody strong mechanisms for monitoring psychological well being indicators and developments, similar to digital well being data and centralized monitoring facilities. With an consciousness of the psychological well being standing of people in society and the components influencing it, extra knowledgeable selections might be made for psychological well being responses throughout epidemics. Additionally, the analysis of applied packages and the power to make changes if essential are important parts of efficient monitoring.” Furthermore, Participant quantity 14, an emergency drugs specialist, said:
“Epidemics have varied results on the psychological well being of the inhabitants. Extensive analysis needs to be performed on this space, specializing in efficient interventions for the psychological well being of the inhabitants and their effectiveness… Existing information needs to be transferred and utilized.”
Collaboration and coordination
The accountable participation of all sectors and coordinated utilization of all capacities in psychological well being response throughout epidemics have been highlighted as essential methods by the individuals. Participant quantity 3, a well being psychologist, expressed:
“All sectors concerned in psychological well being response, together with the federal government, supporting teams, NGOs, Farzanegan Foundation, retirement houses, and many others., ought to have interaction and take part. However, this participation of varied organizations shouldn’t result in conflicts. Coordination must be strengthened at a macro degree, and contradictions in decision-making needs to be resolved. Sometimes, totally different selections have been made in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in our nation, inflicting confusion and concern among the many individuals.”
Ensuring efficient collaboration and coordination amongst various sectors is essential to keep away from conflicts and improve decision-making coherence throughout epidemic responses.
Identification of susceptible teams and people
The individuals believed that one of the crucial necessary actions is to concentrate to susceptible teams. For instance, participant quantity 17, a specialist in well being in disasters and emergencies, said:
“Resources and essential infrastructure needs to be thought-about to assist susceptible teams. Identifying and tracing susceptible and at-risk teams for service provision and follow-up is essential. We ought to try to offer automated companies to those segments. For instance, we at present have a big variety of bereaved households who’ve misplaced their family members. Do now we have any plans in place for them?”
Ensuring focused assist and companies for susceptible populations can improve epidemic response effectiveness.
Mental well being companies
The individuals emphasised that offering psychological well being companies is without doubt one of the most vital actions within the response part. They underscored the need for delivering companies which are protected, inexpensive, and well timed. Participant quantity 7, a psychiatrist, said:
“In the response part, psychological well being companies needs to be upgraded and expanded by way of personnel, gear, and area to extend public entry to psychological well being companies. Initial psychological support needs to be supplied, and companies have to be tailor-made to fulfill particular wants. New intervention fashions needs to be developed, and areas for merely listening to individuals’s considerations needs to be established. Free counseling facilities inside the group needs to be expanded. The privateness of people needs to be preserved and a way of safety needs to be ensured in receiving companies.” Ensuring the affordability and accessibility of psychological well being companies is essential to fulfill the varied wants of the inhabitants throughout epidemics.
Communication and data administration
Timely and correct communication and data administration are the important thing options that contribute to sustaining psychological well being. Participant quantity 9, a specialist in well being in disasters and emergencies, said:
“Providing correct and well timed data is essential throughout epidemics for the psychological well being of the group. Offering well timed and correct data and elevating consciousness among the many public helps scale back the psychological influence of receiving varied rumors. During an epidemic, combating misinformation can be important, and it requires correct and efficient communication. For instance, we observe that misinformation results in public confusion and prompts deviation from well being pointers, similar to sporting masks or in search of acceptable remedies. At occasions, vaccine hesitancy attributable to misinformation has been evident.” Furthermore, Participant quantity 19, an infectious illness specialist, stated:
“A unified digital psychological well being data system aids in psychological well being administration. There needs to be a mechanism for accessing the required knowledge, and the knowledge from psychological well being data at well being facilities needs to be built-in and consolidated. Accurate knowledge and statistics help us in offering higher responses.” Ensuring safe and environment friendly communication channels throughout epidemics is important for disseminating correct data and countering misinformation successfully.
Public training and cultural promotion
Participants thought-about training and cultural initiatives as important for preserving and enhancing psychological well being throughout the response part. Participant quantity 8, a Clinical Psychologist, said:
“One necessary resolution is to offer empowerment instructional packages to the general public. Psychological coaching needs to be given to show individuals the best way to maintain themselves. Providing training on life-style abilities, self-care, self-awareness-based coaching, problem-solving, and emotional administration to most of the people is useful. Essentially, individuals needs to be knowledgeable about what has occurred, what reactions exist, what the longer term holds, and the place to entry companies.”
Education and cultural promotion play an important position in fostering resilience and understanding among the many inhabitants throughout epidemics, selling proactive psychological well being practices and lowering stigma related to in search of assist.
Employment of know-how, instruments, and tele-psychiatry
The utilization of know-how in varied dimensions of psychological well being throughout the response part to epidemics of communicable ailments was recognized as extremely sensible and important. Participant quantity 12, a well being Psychologist, said:
“The use of know-how within the discipline of psychological well being throughout the COVID-19 pandemic was strongly emphasised, and it’s essential to strengthen telemedicine within the discipline of psychological well being (screening, remedy, and many others.). Remote psychological interventions utilizing the Internet and sensible telephones will assist us to offer higher responses sooner or later. For instance, by using these applied sciences, we will create assist teams, facilitate discussions, and supply an outlet for people to precise their emotions.”
Leveraging know-how, together with telemedicine and digital platforms, enhances accessibility to psychological well being companies, helps distant psychological interventions, and fosters group engagement and assist throughout epidemics.
Social assist
Paying consideration to social assist and gaining the belief and participation of the general public have been talked about as efficient response methods. Participant quantity 16, a Clinical Psychologist, said:
“Responsible engagement of the general public considerably contributes to bettering the psychological well being of the society throughout epidemics. It is important to strengthen the spirit of social solidarity and, by honest interactions, construct their belief.” Fostering social assist networks and selling group solidarity are essential for enhancing psychological well-being and resilience throughout epidemics.
Economic assist
Financial and financial assist for people affected by pandemics was additionally among the many proposed options by the individuals. Participant quantity 18, a Clinical Psychologist, said:
“Supporting people who lose their jobs or face financial hardships attributable to pandemics needs to be a precedence, as job and monetary insecurities can have unfavorable impacts on psychological well being.”
Ensuring ample financial assist for affected people is important for mitigating the psychological influence of financial uncertainties throughout pandemics.