Naslov
COVID-19 Pandemic and Psycho-social Tele-counselling

Autori
Novo, Ahmed ; Pandža, Haris ; Kulašin, Igor ; Knežević, Bojana

Izvornik
Internationa Journal on Biomedicine and Healthcare (1805-8698) 9 (2021), 1; 15-18

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
e-health ; telemedicine ; tele-mental health ; COVID-19

Sažetak
Background: The mental health and wellbeing of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis. Psychological distress is at a high level due to fear of infections, death, isolation, deep uncertainty about the future, wellbeing and national economics. Objective: The aim of this paper is to analyze resources, human and technological for the installation of tele-health as a first step to minimize mental health consequences of the pandemic. Methods: In this paper we describe how experts from the Medical Informatics at two universities (in Sarajevo and Zagreb), worked on adapting psychological tele-counseling and its application during the COVID-19 and make the healthcare system faster and safer and better responding to the challenges. Results and Discussion: More than 90% of professionals included in the research use Viber or WhatsApp are using those applications in private relations, but only 15% of them for official communication healthcare-related. Less than 10% of mental health and social care institutions have proper ICT user support or monitoring tools and methodology in place. The research discovered that 85% of professionals in the institutions involved consider continuous training as a must for delivering proper telecare. Conclusion: Providing psychological first aid is an essential care component for populations that have been victims of emergencies and disasters, before, during, and after the event.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Javno zdravstvo i zdravstvena zaštita

POVEZANOST RADA