Semnan establishes a hotline for grief counselling to provide psychological support for individuals suffering from loss.
One of the social and psychological problems caused by COVID-19 is the impossibility of holding funerals for the deceased, therefore psychological support was deemed important for families of deceased individuals.
Another problem was the stress caused by COVID-19 that weakens the immune system and therefore enables the spread of the virus. To prevent this stress and provide mental health support, the telephone line of “4030” was set up to provide mental health counselling.
The “4030” phone line was set up to give psychological consulting on the phone by volunteer psychologists for all groups of people and vulnerable populations, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. in 4 working shifts. Grief consulting was done by volunteer psychologists in cooperation with the social assistance of the university. The hospital social assistance gives the identification of dead people to psychologists to hold grief consulting for families of the deceased in 5 sessions, in addition to 1 session for assessment on the phone. Every session lasts 45 minutes and occurs every week. In this program needy COVID-19 affected families are identified and introduced to social assistance to get supporting services. Psychological consulting services are provided by calling or visiting healthcare personnel.
To promote information and peace among people the items below was done:
Providing methods for preventing stress induced by COVID-19 for different target groups in online sessions, and educating local communities through pamphlets, motion graphics, podcasts, radio, and TV programs.
National surveying was done to inform people about COVID-19 in 8 broadcasts and people’s information, stress and doubts were investigated. The initiative ultimately aimed to enable stress management and prevent the psychological effects of COVID-19.
Assessments about the success of telephone consulting were achieved by examining the statements about the service providing methods.
About the grief intervention, registering and supervising, on phone and visiting services by mental health experts in headquarters was done and reported it to the ministry of health, every 2 weeks. Following up to support needy people via social workers in hospitals.
The results of informing people about COVID-19 by national surveying, shows people awareness about the symptoms, disease transmission and prevention, was good. People’s anxiety stemmed from the loss of loved ones, economic matters and overcrowding at hospitals. People were also worried about the rising number of cases, the spread of the virus, reliable prevention methods, cases among children, the trend of the disease for the next few months and the possibility of getting sick again after recovery.
Furthermore, the stresses and doubts of callers were lowered and their ability to adapt improved. By grief consulting COVID-19 affected people, accepting grief became more possible for them and needy people were supported financially and morally. Psychological consulting for healthcare personnel reduced their stress and they could provide better services in more peace. Providing educational content, podcasts and motion graphics and distributing them in cyberspace was accepted by people with positive feedback.
It is suggested to continue this program, and the telephone line of “4030” continues to provide support. Grief counselling for COVID-19 affected families continues to reduce mental effects and stress in society. This is based on the below results that stemmed from the initiative: