Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Research in Denmark and China demonstrated that women were more adversely psychologically impacted by COVID-19 than men. In China, survey respondents demonstrated evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Consider:

• Mental health services that are tailored for different genders to accommodate a safe space to discuss needs
• Ensuring increased access to mental health services through online systems and telephone calls
• Hand hygiene, mask-wearing and confidence in doctors have been observed to reduce psychological impact

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.