
Theme 6.1
Global crises
Theme leaders: Sara Freedman and Tatiana Davidson

Global COVID-19-related traumatic stress activities
The COVID-19 outbreak is a global problem, an unprecedented pandemic, a public health emergency of international concern that threatens lives and well-being of the world population. It is also affecting health care professionals on the front lines, as well as mental health professionals providing psychosocial support.
As the COVID-19 outbreak is a global problem, it also requires a global solution. Therefore, global collaborating is vital, i.e. working together on COVID-19-related traumatic stress aspects (policies, best practices and research).
We will need to address how people may respond differently to the crisis around the world, how to best communicate about the outbreak and its consequences - taking culture, gender and age aspects into account - how to provide peer support to health workers or other affected professionals, and what are (online) interventions that are needed at a later stage.
Resources
The traumatic stress societies that are united in the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GC-TS) have collected relevant information (listed below) on the COVID-19 virus and measures we can take, the consequences and how to respond to those who suffer from the consequences and how we support our health professionals.
COVID-19 information on STSS websites:
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ISTSS: https://istss.org/public-resources/covid-19-resources
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DeGPT: https://www.degpt.de/aktuelles/wichtige-mitteilungen/covid-uebersicht.html
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JSTSS: Shigemura et al. 2020: https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.12988
Projects:
1. The COVID-19 Mental Health Research Network
2. Traumatic Stress and Adversity Faced by COVID-19 Frontline Healthcare Workers
3. Individual, social and country-related risk factors and stressors, coping behavior and adjustment disorder symptoms in the course of the coronavirus pandemic
4. High-risk occupational groups responding to the COVID-19 pandemic
5. Posttraumatic adjustment in nurses
6. REACH for Mental Health
7. Psychological Effects of the Corona Virus COVID19
8. Global Psychotrauma Screen – Cross-Cultural responses to COVID-19 versus other traumatic events (GPS-CCC)
9. COVID-19 Unmasked: Understanding the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on young children (1-5 years) and their families
10. The COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study
CLINICAL GUIDANCE RESOURCES
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Billings, J., Kember, T., Greene, T., Grey, N., Elleithy, S., Lee, D., Kennerley, H., Albert, I., Robertson, M., Brewin, C., Bloomfield, M. COVID trauma response working group rapid guidance for planners of the psychosocial response to stress experienced by hospital staff associated with COVID: Early Interventions
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Billings, J., Palomo, M., Greene, T., Chase, A., Hahn, Sungmin, Flint, B., Reeves, S., Rapaport, P., Mansfield, E., Makalo, F., Grey, N., Murphy, D., Elleithy, S., Brewin, C., Manthorpe, J., Bloomfield, M. Guidance for managers & decision makers in supporting care home workers during COVID-19
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Blumberg, J., Ehntholt, K., Gerskowitch, C., Ottisova, L., Gillard, J., Robertson, M., Grey, N., Billings, J., Greene, T., Bloomfield, M. COVID Trauma Response Working Group Clinical Guidance: Psychological First Aid
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Chan, C., Maddox, L., Loades, M., Resiel, A., Beck, A., Lister, M., Hiller, R., Reynolds, S., Westbrook, A., Bloomfield, M., Greene, T., Billings, J. COVID Trauma Response Working Group Rapid Guidance. Working with children, young people, and families to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
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Dunn, B., Shear, K. Ehlers, A., Wild, J., Greene, T., Brewin, C., Enholt, K., Billings, J., Stubley, J., Albert, I., Grey, N., Bloomfield, M. COVID Trauma Response Working Group Clinical Guidance: Clinical guidelines for delivering bereavement and grief support in the context of COVID-19
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El-Leithy, S., Albert, I., Billings, J., Birch, J., Robertson, M., Brewin, C., Ehntholt, K., Fortune, L., Greene, T., Grey, N., Hanna, L., Kennerley, H., Lee, D., Wade, D., Bloomfield, M. COVID Trauma Response Working Group Rapid Guidance. Screening and active monitoring for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health consequences in people recovering from severe COVID-19 illness
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Greene, T., Khera, M., Jagmetti, L., Campbell, A., Hardcastle, E., Billings, J., El-Leithy, S., Lee, D., Murphy, D., Robertson, M., Brewin, C., Bloomfield, M. COVID Trauma Response Working Group Rapid Guidance. Moral injury in healthcare workers associated with COVID-19. Guidance on moral injury in healthcare workers associated with COVID-19