The Mental Health Crisis of Frontline Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Essays (high school) of English

Download The Mental Health Crisis of Frontline Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic and more Essays (high school) English in PDF only on Docsity! THE PLIGHT OF OUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE by Anne Nicole Carig The persistence of the global pandemic for over a year now has resulted to mental health repercussions on the general public- the frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) being undoubtedly the most vulnerable sector from suffering its grave effects. By and large, physical health ought to be prioritized, however, this does not diminish the importance of addressing mental wellbeing needs especially of those in the medical facet who are at the concerning brink of battling against this adversity. Several studies from the preceding pandemics have demonstrated a significant impact on the medical frontline workers’ mental health, with notably higher level of burnout, psychological torment, and post-traumatic distress. Historically, COVID-19 pandemic has now been identified as a tragic milestone with the most serious and devastating health crisis the world has ever encountered since the World War II, which just all the more justifies its unfathomable mental health upshot particularly to the first line of defense. Along with their uncompromising response to the call of duty is their perennial battle against fear, anxiety, pressure, fatigue, insomnia, and many more. Subsequently, the long hours of exposure to the virus, the grief of being distanced with their family members in a close-knit Filipino culture, the mental stress and moral torment over the inability to save the toll of dying patients, the continuous avalanche of COVID-19 cases, the shortage of medical and protective equipment, and the horror of witnessing colleagues’ passing on the top of that, are just few among the plethora of the healthcare frontline workers’ existing struggles. Responding to this concern on the mentally overwhelmed healthcare systems brought upon by the enduring and unfamiliar paradigm shift, the World Health Organization has taken a primary step through mental health infographics which feature uplifting messages of support, quality facts, and words of reassurance tailored for audiences including the frontline workers. The Philippine Red Cross has also extended mental health services through launching a special hotline to cater to those who are in urgent need of mental health bolster. Consequently, UNICEF has partnered with Red Cross to provide and mobilize support systems to whoever needs it towards the holistic improvement of mental health in the Philippines. However, these efforts seem to downplay the pressing impacts of mental health issues by resorting to easy and convenient solutions rather than straightforward and necessary measures. Also, ironically, the healthcare frontline workers remain deprived of proper compensation with delayed benefits and special risk allowance despite overworking under high-risk and dire working conditions, that is even often unfortunately romanticized in a facade of resilience and sacrifice. Some genuine solutions that played an integral role in addressing the mental health needs of the healthcare workers in the previous pandemics includes granting of practical governmental support with uncompromising infection-control and monitoring, practical guidance and financial redress, and relieving of extreme working intensity through the provision of sufficient medical resources. Likewise, rigorous tracing and identification of high-risk individuals through consistent research and investing in evidence-based prevention and treatment are potential effective countermeasures in alleviating this mounting plight on mental health.