Mental HealthPsychosocial Support at

Quarantine centres

Presented by: MHPSS team MoH

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

● Introduction

● Scope of operations

● Quarantine PSS interventions

● Challenges

● Recommendations

● Compliments

● Way forward

ABBREVIATONS

• MHPSS-Mental health psychosocial

support.

• PFA- Psychological First Aid.

• PPE-Personal protective equipment.

• PSS-Psychosocial support.

• MOH-ministry of health.

• MSW-Medical social work.

INTRODUCTION

● The Ministry of Health identified quarantine sites as a

public health intervention for prevention and control

of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

● The Division of Mental Health was charged with the

responsibility of ensuring the quarantined guests

receive psychosocial support

SCOPE OF OPERATIONS

MHPSS was targeted for:

▪ Quarantined guests

▪ Their families

▪ Healthcare workers

▪ Quarantine site staff(Medical and

non medical staff)

PSS INTERVENTIONS

● Intervention done for the clients employed the Psychological First Aid (PFA) model of: Look, Listen,Link

● This was done as either: On site (one-on-one) and off site tele-counselling, group counselling.

● Pre and Post test counselling,social assessment and reporting.

● Weekly MHPSS work reports.● Psychiatric review, linkage and referral when

necessary

CHALLENGES:QUARANTINEES● Feelings of anxiety and depression

● Financial constraints on how they would settle their accommodation bills in the various quarantine areas

● Lack of information or guidelines on quarantine

● Lack of protective gear i.e. masks

● Suicidility by some guests (ideation and attempts)

● Some guests had exacerbation of pre existing mental health conditions e.g. Depression, Bipolar mood disorder and Anxiety.

● Difficulty in providing psychiatric care within the sites due to lack of medicine and Mathari hospital not prepared/equipped to provide inpatient treatment.

CHALLENGES CONT…

● Stigma: from staff, other guests, community following

contact tracing

● Guests complained of shared ablution facilities which

increased risk of contamination. They also complained of

a shared food serving point

● Lack of basic necessities such as female sanitary items

● Some guests not following the set quarantine standards

putting others at risk

CHALLENGES CONT…

• Worry over transport back to home

counties out of Nairobi

• Guests were not happy with the

inhumane handling and transportation to

quarantine sites especially by the tracing

teams. They also complained of being

broken to news of their results in a rude

manner while at their residences

CHALLENGES: MHPSS PROVIDERS

• Inadequate human resource to provide MHPSS

• Delayed provision of PPE’S

• Hostility by guest/angry threats and holding some

hostage due to extension of quarantine.

• Burnout by staff.

• Logistics issues -Airtime provision, transport to sites.

RECOMMENDATIONSQUARANTINE SITES

● The medical social work department to coordinate economic assessment and present findings to the ministry for action to be taken

● Adequate provision of PPE i.e. masks for the guests at the quarantine sites

● The ministry should create more awareness to eradicate stigma of persons who are Covid-19 positive

• The government to consider specific sites purely for: the aged, parents and their children and any other special group

RECOMENDATIONS :MHPSS

• Engage more Human resource for Mental health and psychosocial support.

• Timely and adequate provision of Personal protective equipment.

• Good coordination on logistics to service providers

• Creation of a call centre /Hotline or a toll free line for Mental health.

• Permanent operational and resourced Mental Health and Psychosocial Team

RECOMMENDATIONS CONT….

• Persons doing contact tracing to be trained

on how to handle contacts so as to void

apathy towards this noble government

activity

● The government to consider specific sites

purely for: the aged, parents and their

children and any other special group

● Mental health Toll free line

COMPLIMENTS

● Guests were cognizant and expressed gratitude that the ministry/government had thought of them and sent a team to offer psychosocial support

● Reports of reduced anxiety levels and willingness to cooperate with the quarantine guides/processes

● The persons reached were looking forward to follow up sessions

WAY FORWARD

● Follow up of clients offered PSS

● Large scale targeted and continuous training on PFA

for healthcare workers

Q & A

Thank you….