Elsevier

Health Policy and Technology

Volume 9, Issue 4, December 2020, Pages 503-509
Health Policy and Technology

International experiences of the active period of COVID-19 - Mental health care

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2020.08.016Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Overall, COVID-19 has had massive impacts on mental health care internationally.

  • Most mental health systems were under-resourced and under-prepared, both to manage existing clients and to manage new clients.

  • There were significant differences between sites, depending on the explosivity of COVID-19 and the readiness of the mental health system.

  • Integrated, community mental health systems exhibited greater adaptability in contrast to services which depended on face-to-face and hospital-based care.

  • There is an urgent requirement to use the lessons of COVID to drive the next wave of mental health reform, which should prioritise local, community and digital solutions.

Abstract

Aim

To summarise commonalities and variations in the mental health response to COVID-19 across different sites and countries, with a view to better understanding key steps not only in crisis management, but for future systemic reform of mental health care.

Method

We conducted a Rapid Synthesis and Translation Process of lessons learned from an international panel of experts, collecting on the ground experiences of the pandemic as it evolved in real time. Digital conferencing and individual interviews were used to rapidly acquire knowledge on the COVID-19 outbreak across 16 locations in Australia, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, the UK, and the USA.

Results

COVID-19 has had massive impacts on mental health care internationally. Most systems were under-resourced and under-prepared, struggling to manage both existing and new clients. There were significant differences between sites, depending on the explosivity the pandemic and the readiness of the mental health system. Integrated, community mental health systems exhibited greater adaptability in contrast to services which depended on face-to-face and hospital-based care. COVID-19 has demonstrated the need for a new approach to rapid response to crisis in mental health. New decision support system tools are necessary to ensure local decision-makers can effectively respond to the enormous practical challenges posed in these circumstances.

Conclusions

The process we have undertaken has generated clear lessons for mental health policymakers worldwide, beyond pandemic planning and response to guide next steps in systemic mental health reform. Key here is achieving some balance between national leadership and local context adaptation of evidence.

Keywords

COVID-19
Mental health
Health planning
Health systems research

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