Frontline Medical Staff Receive Support for 'COVID Stress'... Survey Conducted on Mental Health Status of Response Personnel

On the 20th, medical staff collected samples from citizens at a temporary screening clinic set up in Seoul Station Plaza. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 23rd that it will conduct an 8-day survey from the 23rd to the 30th on the mental health status of COVID-19 response personnel working at public health centers who are on the front lines performing testing, vaccinations, and other quarantine duties.

The survey targets approximately 4,000 to 5,000 response personnel working at 17 public health centers in cities and provinces with a high number of confirmed cases. The targeted public health centers are located in ▲Songpa-gu, Seoul ▲Saha-gu, Busan ▲Dalseo-gu, Daegu ▲Bupyeong-gu, Incheon ▲Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju ▲Seo-gu, Daejeon ▲Nam-gu, Ulsan ▲Sejong ▲Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi ▲Wonju-si, Gangwon ▲Eumseong-gun, Chungbuk ▲Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam ▲Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeonbuk ▲Suncheon-si, Jeonnam ▲Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongbuk ▲Jinju-si, Gyeongnam ▲Jeju-si, Jeju. The survey will be conducted on all employees working at these public health centers, and differences by occupation and job responsibilities will be analyzed later.

The survey will be conducted online. It will cover mental health conditions such as depression and stress, work intensity, stress factors, and needed services, and will be carried out through the Korean Society of Trauma Stress via an online questionnaire. Individual survey links will be provided via text messages, and the number of questions will be minimized according to the workload of the response personnel.

Concerns have also been raised overseas about the severe mental stress experienced by COVID-19 response medical staff. In the UK, it was found that 322 National Health Service (NHS) employees attempted suicide last year due to stress from responding to COVID-19.

A government official stated, "Through this survey, we plan to understand the mental health status of quarantine personnel working at frontline public health centers and prepare measures to improve psychological support accordingly."

※ If you have difficult concerns such as depression or know family or acquaintances experiencing such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour expert counseling at suicide prevention hotlines ☎1577-0199, Hope Call ☎129, Lifeline ☎1588-9191, and Youth Call ☎1388.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.