A Mental Health First Aid Service in an Italian University Public Hospital during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak

A Mental Health First Aid Service in an Italian University Public Hospital during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak

Roberto Vitelli, Mario Bottone, Paolo Valerio, Cristiano Scandurra, Alessandro Chiodi, Nelson Mauro Maldonato, Raffaella De Falco, Benedetta Muzii, Grazia Isabella Continisio, Marzia Duval, Gerarda Siani

The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been extremely stressful and has produced fear and anxiety throughout the population, representing a psychological emergency. This work aimed at presenting a mental health first aid service established within an Italian university public hospital context to address four different population targets (i.e., people vulnerable to mental health problems, health-care professionals, people in isolation, and general citizenship). Specifically, the organizational structure comprising four different areas (i.e., management, clinical, communication, and research) and first data collected from the foundation of the service until 3 May 2020 are presented. Findings indicated that anxiety and fear of contagion were the main motivations prompting both the general population and health-care professionals to ask for a psychological help. Furthermore, findings indicate that clients’ current quality of life was perceived as lower than in the past but also that imagined in the future, highlighting the importance of psychological first aid interventions. This service may represent an example for helping mental health professionals in developing similar services in their local realities, promoting health and individual and community resilience.

2020

Quality of Life, first aid, Mental health, psychological intervention, COVID-19

DOI: 10.3390/su12104244

Sustainability

MDPI AG

Environmental sciences, Renewable energy sources, Environmental effects of industries and plants