Main description:

Since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic health care, public health, first responders, and other essential workers have been engaged in the most extensive emergency response in more than a century, whilst trust in science has been eroded and public health has been politicized. Against this context, the authors in this collection assess the potential mental health impacts, widening disparities, and needed interventions for future resilience of the public health workforce. What actions can be taken now to ensure more resilient systems post-pandemic?

Focusing on the impacts of the pandemic on responder health across health care, public health, emergency management, and more, the chapters, written by experts in the field, provide an overview of the mental health impacts of disasters and emergencies on responders more broadly, and also highlight the inequitable impacts of the response among sectors of the workforce and populations who are socially or physically vulnerable. Closing with recommendations for changes that are needed to address gaps in capacity, COVID-19, Frontline Responders and Mental Health makes a crucial contribution to building the evidence base and disseminating best practices to ensure recommendations become standard practices in the future.

Realizing the harsh potential realities such as a shortage of qualified workers and questions around funding and workforce development needed to ensure preparedness for the next public health emergency, this playbook for delivering resilient public health systems post-pandemic provides a timely oversight for future resilience.

Contents:

Introduction; Jennifer A. Horney

Chapter 1. Older Adults' Behavioral Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic; Vanessa Parks, Grace Hindmarch, Sonny S. Patel, and Aaron Clark-Ginsberg

Chapter 2. COVID-19 and Women; Sarah E. Scales and Jennifer A. Horney

Chapter 3. Impacts of COVID-19 on Children and Adolescent Well-Being; Yulissa Rodriguez and Rita V. Burke

Chapter 4. Mental Health among LGBTQ+ Communities in the Context of COVID-19; Gregory Phillips II, Dylan Felt, Megan M. Ruprecht, and Lauren B. Beach

Chapter 5. Impacts of the COVID-19 Response on Populations with Chronic Conditions and Developmental Disabilities; Jennifer Trivedi and Megan Stevens

Chapter 6. Mental Health and Quality of Life in Long-Term Care during the Pandemic; Caitlin McArthur, Reem Mulla, Luke A. Turcotte, Jessica Chi-Yen Chu, Micaela Jantzi, and John P. Hirdes

Chapter 7. Mental Health in Rural America during COVID-19 and Beyond; J. Tom Mueller and Alexis A. Merdjanoff

Chapter 8. Impacts of the COVID-19 Response on Frontline Healthcare Workers; Mari Fischer and Jennifer A. Horney

Chapter 9. Impacts of the COVID-19 Response on the Governmental Public Health Workforce; Kahler W. Stone

Chapter 10. Impacts of the COVID-19 Response on the Academic Public Health Workforce; Kristina W. Kintziger and Jennifer A. Horney

Chapter 11. Mental Health Impacts on Other Essential Workers; Jennifer A. Horney

Chapter 12. Inequities in the Mental Health Impacts on Frontline Responders and Essential Workers; Ibraheem M. Karaye

Chapter 13. Lessons from the Response; Jennifer A. Horney

Conclusions and Common Themes; Jennifer A. Horney