Department of Psychology, University of Prishtina "Hasan Prishtina", Eqrem Cabej, nn. Prishtina, 10000, Kosovo.
Psychiatr Danub. 2020 Autumn-Winter;32(3-4):570-576. doi: 10.24869/psyd.2020.570.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures brought for prevention of infections are associated with considerable psychosocial and psychological morbidity in the general population. Providing continuous mental health services during the pandemics is a challenge worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper reports on the strategies and activities taken to protect public mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kosovo. This included establishing online and phone psychological first aid services and developing psychoeducational videos and webinars. The paper concludes with several lessons learned during the process of establishing and maintaining these interventions, such as: initial political endorsement is crucial to gain and maintain the momentum of services; continuous training of volunteers is crucial for both addressing the needs/problems, which arise during the process of work and maintain the motivation of volunteers; promotion of the services is crucial; academic curricula training mental health professionals should include digital mental health related courses and manualization on how to establish this kind of services in midst of crisis is crucial in order to ensure quick operationalization when needed again especially in LMIC settings. The interventions developed provide opportunity for further research especially by evaluating the impact of the services and exploring how online and provision of mental health and psychoeducation services online could help to cover services gap in times of isolation, limited movement and situations similar to pandemics in settings with limited mental health services and resources. The situation with pandemics with COVID 19 is still far from ending. Future waves of infections and restriction could again spike the mental health and psychosocial and psychological strain of the general population, therefore being prepared in provisions of psychological first aid and other mental health services online is crucial.
COVID-19 大流行及其预防感染的措施给普通人群带来了相当大的心理社会和心理负担。在大流行期间提供持续的精神卫生服务是全世界的一项挑战，尤其是在中低收入国家（LMICs）。本文报告了在科索沃 COVID-19 大流行期间为保护公众精神健康而采取的策略和活动。其中包括建立在线和电话心理急救服务，以及开发心理教育视频和网络研讨会。本文最后总结了在建立和维持这些干预措施的过程中吸取的一些经验教训，例如：最初的政治支持对于获得和维持服务的势头至关重要；对志愿者的持续培训对于解决工作过程中出现的需求/问题以及保持志愿者的积极性至关重要；服务推广至关重要；学术课程培训精神卫生专业人员应包括与数字心理健康相关的课程，并规范如何在危机中建立这种服务，这对于在再次需要时确保快速运作至关重要，尤其是在 LMIC 设置中。开发的干预措施为进一步研究提供了机会，特别是通过评估服务的影响，以及探索在隔离、行动受限和类似大流行的情况下，在线提供心理健康和心理教育服务如何有助于弥补服务缺口。COVID-19 大流行的情况还远未结束。未来的感染浪潮和限制可能会再次加剧普通人群的心理健康和心理社会压力，因此，在线提供心理急救和其他心理健康服务的准备工作至关重要。
