Essay Sample on Anxiety Due to Coronavirus Pandemic

Arguably, healthcare workers have become the most victims of the Coronavirus pandemic since they have been the front-liners who are directly involved in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Consequently, they have increasingly developed various forms of psychological distress along with other signs of mental illness that have reduced their productivity. The ever-increasing cases of confirmed Coronavirus patients have created an overwhelming workload within significant healthcare facilities in the United States of America (Lai et al., 2019). Also, the rate at which the number of personal protection equipment is getting used up has contributed significantly to the growing number of depression and anxiety among healthcare providers within the country. Recent pieces of research have also revealed that the lack of specific medications for the disease has impacted fear and anxiety among healthcare workers as they feel inadequately supported, which in turn creates more mental burden on them (Chow et al., 2020). Therefore, adverse psychological reactions have facilitated the growing number of new cases of the disease within the country (Lai et al., 2019). Thus, a practical solution to the problem is necessary for curbing the spread of the virus and guaranteeing healthcare providers their safety while undertaking daily services at different levels of healthcare facilities. The step will effectively solve the problem of anxiety, depression, and different levels of mental health within healthcare providers.

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The situation has worsened as some healthcare providers have even committed suicide due to fear of contagion and infecting their family members (Chow et al., 2020). The feeling of uncertainty and stigmatization have made the healthcare providers who have been infected with the virus to be more skeptical about their health situation. Consequently, they have reported contemplating resignation due to the increasing level of stress, depression, and anxiety, which have led to long-term psychological implications on the healthcare providers (Covid et al., 2020). Also, the concerns regarding the mental health of the healthcare providers, along with the underlying psychological adjustment, have been rising, which have, in turn, escalated the psychological impacts of the pandemic on healthcare providers. The situation has worsened in the United States of America which have made the number of new registries in the field to deteriorate (Chow et al., 2020). Reports have revealed that some of the infected patients within the country are the family members of the healthcare providers.

The need for individual and group counseling program to reduce the intensity of the impacts of the pandemic on healthcare providers are eminent (Covid et al., 2020). Therefore, various psychological assistance services should be deployed by multiple related organizations to act as the main model of saving the problem. For instance, Tele counseling models like the use of the telephone, and internet along with application-based service and intervention can effectively reduce the psychological impacts of the crisis on healthcare providers. The local and national mental health bodies should take an active role in deploying such services in various healthcare institutions to respond to the menace that has dramatically impacted the quality of healthcare provision in healthcare facilities. Besides, the step will help in increasing the number of healthcare providers as the country will have more new registered healthcare providers into their healthcare facilities due to the assurance of their safety through the Tele counseling services. The bodies should, therefore, venture into establishing nationwide psychological assistance hotlines that can be contacted by healthcare providers in case of alarming activities while undertaking their duties. The counseling programs will also aim at assuring the healthcare providers of their safety by providing relevant processes of keeping safe while undertaking the activities. In this regard, the model will give the healthcare providers applicable gears that have been tested and proven to be effective in keeping safe while attending to the patients. Besides, the Tele counseling platforms will complement the use of the equipment through the provision of the right ways of applying the protective gear while on duty. Generally, the Tele counseling program will aim at equipping the healthcare providers with the required safety knowledge on how to offer treatment services to the patients without contracting the virus.

To address the gap, certain measures can also work effectively in reducing the dangers of anxiety, depression, and distress that healthcare workers have developed. My recent conversation with a doctor from New York City revealed that the intensity of the mental health problems within the healthcare providers originates from the fear of exposing their family members to the virus since they interact with different individuals on most occasions. The doctor affirmed that since some of their close relatives have certain health conditions like diabetes, that increases the risk of contracting the disease. Their suggestion on behalf of the healthcare workers requested that if the providers can be accorded transportation services to and from healthcare facilities provided with houses within the facilities alongside reducing the working hours, the depression will decrease, which will make them more productive. It is because they shall have reduced the risk of exposure to their loved ones back at home. Besides, the step will significantly reduce mental health issues through the availability of the chance to closely monitor the early signs of depression that may easily worsen to more adverse states. Observing the steps will effectively solve the mental health burden of United States healthcare workers.

References

Chow, N., Fleming-Dutra, K., Gierke, R., Hall, A., Hughes, M., Pilishvili, T., Ussery, E. (2020). Preliminary estimates of the prevalence of selected underlying health conditions among patients with coronavirus disease 2019-United States, February 12-March 28, 2020. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/87230

Covid, C. D., Chow, N., Fleming-Dutra, K., Gierke, R., Roguski, K. (2020). Preliminary estimates of the prevalence of selected underlying health conditions among patients with coronavirus disease 2019-United States, February 12-March 28, 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(13), 382. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7119513/

Lai, J., Ma, S., Wang, Y., Cai, Z., Hu, J., Wei, N., Tan, H. (2020). Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA network open, 3(3), e203976-e203976. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/article-abstract/2763229