SPR30831 WLF SPA WhitePaper v12 - Flipbook - Page 10
What the evidence says
scores were reported among nurses and healthcare workers who provided care to SARS
patients24.
Similar results are found in a study of hospital practitioners (n=359) involved in responding to the
MERS outbreak in Korea in 2015, where those directly involved in MERS-related care provision
demonstrated the highest risk for PTSD symptoms25.
Aligning the Australian Government’s pandemic response with the evidence
Overall, the Australian Government’s pandemic response aligns with existing evidence. Actions
the government have taken, which align with recommendations from the evidence review
include:
• establishing
a COVID-19 support line and additional funding to expand existing support
services
• e
xpanding Medicare-subsidised telehealth services for all Australians, with extra incentives to
General Practitioners (GPs) and other health practitioners also delivered
• funding accurate timely data and modelling of the mental health impacts of COVID-19
• investment into suicide prevention research and service improvement to enhance
evidence-based support
• d
edicated mental health support for frontline health workers through digital platforms
developed to provide advice, social support, assistance in managing stress and anxiety, and
more in-depth treatment without having to attend in-person sessions
• s trengthening mental health services to reach vulnerable groups such as older Australians,
culturally and linguistically diverse communities, carers of people who live with a mental
illness and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• initiatives and schemes to support Australians experiencing financial hardship and
unemployment
• p
roviding information and guidance on maintaining good mental health during the pandemic
and how to access further mental health services and care through existing digital mental
health portal, Head to Health.
Reducing distress in the community following the COVID-19 pandemic
June 2020
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