In order to ensure that individuals have access to psychosocial support services during the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, a support line has been established in 81 provinces. The algorithms and resources to be followed in interviews with individuals calling the psychosocial support line are included in the study guide.

Various interview forms have been created to better understand the situation of individuals calling the psychosocial support line. How the forms will be applied has been determined by algorithms. In addition, suggestions that can be shared during the interview and information about institutions that need to be referred are included in the study guide.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that can cause mild, self-limiting infections, such as the common cold, to more serious infections, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Coronaviruses have various subtypes (HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, and HKU1-CoV) that are found in humans and can be easily transmitted from person to person. These subtypes that circulate among humans are mostly viruses that cause the common cold. However, there are many coronavirus subtypes detected in animals and it is known that these viruses can pass from animals to humans and cause severe illness in humans. Detailed research revealed that SARSCoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans, and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. SARS-CoV emerged in 2003 as a previously unknown virus as the first international health emergency of the 21st century, causing hundreds of people to lose their lives. About 10 years later, MERS-CoV, which had not previously been shown to exist in humans or animals, was first identified in humans in Saudi Arabia in September 2012; However, it was later revealed that the first cases were actually seen in a hospital in Zarqa, Jordan in April 2012.

On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) China Country Office reported cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. On January 7, 2020, the agent was identified as a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that had not previously been detected in humans. Later, the name of the 2019-nCoV disease was accepted as COVID-19, and the virus was named SARS-CoV-2 due to its close similarity to SARS CoV. The COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020.

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES DURING EPIDEMIC PERIOD

In emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to provide mental health and psychosocial support services. The concept of “mental health and psychosocial support” is used within the framework of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)’s MHPSS Guidelines in Emergencies to define “all types of internal and external support aimed at maintaining or promoting psychosocial well-being and/or preventing or treating mental disorders” (IASC, 2020).

In the pandemic experiences experienced to date, it has been observed that telephone or video interviews (with programs such as Skype) are widely used in providing mental health and psychosocial support services when face-to-face meetings are not possible or appropriate. In psychosocial support services provided by telephone, the use of questionnaires with proven validity and reliability and the referral of individuals interviewed to a psychiatrist when necessary are among the methods applied (Taylor, 2019).

In order to provide effective information about mental health services during the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, a psychosocial support line has been established in the provinces by the Ministry of Health Mental Health Department.