Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

For example:

• Collect data on the mental health effects of COVID-19 across the population and vulnerable groups
• Monitor and report the rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, and other mental health issues
• Determine what psychological support is available to front-line medical/health-care staff and their families
• Determine the best ways to signpost and deliver mental health services for vulnerable groups, including online clinics and community support
• Use health messages to optimise behaviour change and reduce unintended mental health issues
• Design longer-term strategies to address an increased volume of mental health issues and their impacts on service demand
• Target population-level interventions to prevent and treat mental health symptoms (e.g. anxiety) and boost coping and resilience (e.g. exercise)
• Synthesise an evidence base of lessons learned for future pandemics, tailored to specific groups, to motivate and enable people to prepare psychologically and plan for future scenarios

COVID-19 has affected populations and individuals (people) -whether directly or indirectly. Compared to previous pandemics its effects are more far-reaching, and recovery will be not only focused on physical and mental health but also on the system; economic, infrastructure, the environment and wider humanitarian issues. In this briefing, we focus on the challenges for the health and care system in the UK using the lenses of people, place and processes, which are underpinned by partnerships and power. We show that recovery on health and care systems alone will not be sufficient to address the impact of this pandemic, and highlight the challenges for the health and care system.

This briefing was written by the Recovery team at the University of Manchester. To read this briefing in full, following the source link below to The Manchester Briefing Issue 6 (p.2-8).

Researchers have initiated the study "COVID-19 National Resilience Cohort" in Iceland. The nationwide project aims to gather information on the effects of Covid-19 on quality of life and on health and well-being. The study will:

• Aim to plan even better future responses to the effects of such events
• Be limited to all individuals who are 18 and older, residing in Iceland, with electronic/Bank IDs
• Require participates to answer a web-based questionnaire on: mental and physical health; exposure to COVID-19 related factors within the family; change in lifestyle; and social interactions
• Follow participants in subsequent study waves (one year later) and link to nationwide health registers
• Recruit study participants in April/May 2020 via social media awareness campaigns as well as invite participants of previous studies to join

The website for the study is: https://lidanicovid.is/

This response can include having the flexibility to create new capacity in the health system perhaps by creating new 'field' hospitals or by creating more space in existing hospitals.

For example, in the UK, capacity in the health system is being created by moving patients that are not at risk into hotels and similar facilities to free up health services for at-risk patients. Hotels in Dorset UK, with support from the local council, have offered rooms to "free up urgent bed space in the NHS by taking low risk patients and carers and being part of the solution... 230 hotels prepared to reopen their door". Developing a roster of hotels and similar spaces that can be used in case of resurgence would support emergency planning.

Consider:

• How prayer spaces will be managed for keyworkers- allocate suitable spaces with social distancing requirements in mind, provide adequate notice should a prayer space be closed for cleaning
• Public information regarding Iftar and Eid; the breaking of fasting each day (Iftar) is usually a sociable even. Remind the public that despite its personal religious importance, social distancing measures need to be observed. The same measures also apply to the end of Ramadan (Eid). Eid is on Saturday, 23 May 2020, and even if some lockdown restrictions have been eased, it is important to remind the public that social distancing is still required. Consider working through local leaders, community members and where appropriate the police, to ensure public safety
• These lessons are applicable to other major religious events, or holidays - consider processes to manage events such as Diwali, etc. While later on in the year, it is likely social distancing measures will still need to be observed

The aim of the survey can be to evaluate well-being and quality of life to assess the possible long-term impacts on health. Consider:

• An online survey on well-being completed now and repeated in a year's time
• Identification of any previous surveys conducted on wellbeing and comparison of the findings

The findings can inform policy development, project prioritisation, and evaluate health-based equality/inequality.

Material for those supporting frontline workers has been developed using the latest evidence and drawing on expertise from across the world.

One-page resources are available on issues including: readiness, team dynamics, decision making, leadership, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), resilience. This resource is continually being added to.

Training in psychosocial first aid can help here to increase the network of people who can provide psychosocial support. This can facilitate the population's recovery. This acknowledges that some will need help at a professional level.

Reference: UK County Council

For example: age, gender, and race. In the UK of 2,250 adults surveyed 49% said they had felt more anxious and depressed than normal, 38% said they were having trouble sleeping and, 22% said they were concerned about significant money problems. If current measures are to persist, these figures are likely to rise.

For example, a study in the UK showed that among 24% of 16-24-year-olds said they were finding it extremely difficult to cope with the lockdown. Only 11% of those aged 45 to 75 said they were struggling. While older populations may be more susceptible to the physical impacts of COVID-19, younger people may be impacted more psychologically.

Consider promoting healthy eating agendas, working with supermarkets and convenience stores to combat unhealthy eating and convenience foods which are often characteristic of low income homes that may not have access to support for healthy food choices.

While volunteers can help bolster these provisions, local government should be wary of levels of training, qualification and experience to reduce poor services and inefficient use of resources.

Consider whether immunity certificates would be helpful for residents who have safely survived the coronavirus and have antibodies in their blood to prove it. The article says that certificates might "have some merit under certain circumstances".