KUALA LUMPUR: Managing mental health among the people including frontliners during the Covid-19 pandemic is equally important as fighting the virus outbreak.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said human psychology also has an impact on the outbreak.
Hence, he said proper strategies to manage human psychology, especially mental health, is very important to break the vicious cycle.
"Managing our mental health is a priority now to ensure the curve can be flattened and Covid-19 defeated," he said when delivering his keynote address during the Malaysian Healthcare Conference 2021 held via Zoom today.
Dr Adham said mental health can be managed using cognitive-behavioural approaches, mindfulness and spirituality.
"By practising the cognitive-behavioural, mindfulness, and spirituality strategies, we may enhance our acceptance, optimism and commitment to prepare for a new or renewed normal," he added.
Another challenge the government has to face is countering the unprecedented level of misinformation, conspiracy theories and rumours pertaining to Covid-19.
He conceded that such a spread of information is an outcome of the pandemic taking place during the "social media age".
He said social media platforms have responded to the majority of social media posts rated false by fact-checkers by removing them or attaching various warnings.
"Consistency in public health messaging as well as increased funding dedicated to fact-checking seems to be needed as the immediate first step," he said.
The fight against Covid-19 has pushed health systems toward a more integrated and value-based approach to managing diseases, he said.
He said it represents an important long-term opportunity to create more patient-centred health systems to facilitate continuous learning through sharing standardised data, and benchmarks and, as a result, employ resources more effectively to meet patient needs.
It seems inevitable that post Covid-19, there will be a review of policies, guidelines, and regulations relating to individual rights, he said.
"There are also needs to review the implementation of drastic public health measures, as well as the governance of new technologically driven solutions within healthcare.
"Out of crises comes learning and innovation - both to face our immediate challenge and to build more sustainable health systems, for a healthier and safer world in the decades to come," he added.
The two-day conference themed "Accelerating the Transformation of Health Systems in a Pandemic - Challenges & Opportunities" was organised by KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific.
Source:
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2021/08/717705/mental-health-equally-important-fighting-covid-19-pandemic
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