Work plan of psychological assistance and medical social work amid COVID-19 outbreak

Work plan of psychological assistance and social work service at concentrated quarantine sites for the COVID-19 prevention

Aims:
1. Provide epidemic awareness, health guidance, psychological and emotional counselling, psychological crisis assessment and counselling and referral services for those who had had close contacts with infected patients and those who have been cured and discharged.
2. Provide psychological protection knowledge and skill training for staff at quarantine sites, and provide psychological support and emotional counseling services.

Principles:
1. Psychological assistance and social work services shall be included in the overall deployment of epidemic prevention and control at concentrated quarantine sites.
2. Psychological assistance and social work services should be carried out in coordination with the daily work at the concentrated quarantine sites.
3. Psychological assistance and social work service groups should adopt the internal methods of quarantine sitesand those from outside as well as Internet and face-to-face services.
4. Psychological assistance workers and social work service workers should promise to strictly protect their patients' privacy.

Measures:
1. Create an environment conducive to maintaining mental health
(1) Arrange the rooms according to quarantine regulations and keep the wireless network unblocked.
(2) Provide psychological support resources, encourage the people who are in quarantine to learn independently, seek help and self-assess.
(3) Encourage the people to follow the schedule at the quarantine sites, trying to finish the original study or work plan; encourage the people discharged from the hospital to re-examine in accordance with the doctor's advice, and gradually resume a normal life.

2. Provide psychological assistance and social work services for people who are in quarantine
(1) Encourage the people who are in quarantine to keep in touch with their families and friends to relieve negative feelings.
(2) Pay attention to psychological states of the people who are in quarantine. Further assessment and targeted intervention measures should be taken if necessary.
(3) Focus on individuals who lost their family members, or those who experience psychological problems during quarantine periods as well as those who are receiving psychiatric treatment, and assess and intervene when appropriate.
(4) Understand people‘s special needs and provide them with a full range of care services.
(5). Children who are in quarantine should be supervised by designated adults to ensure the safety of the environment. Children of different ages should receive targeted psychological support.

3. Provide psychological support and counselling for workers at quarantine sites
(1) Provide community workers with books on psychological support for community services and practical guidelines on social work to cope with the epidemic, and provide skills and guidance.
(2) Distribute relevant publicity and education materials and guide the workers at quarantine sites to acquire mental health knowledge and psychological adjustment skills.
(3). Organize group counselling via the internet to relieve workers’ pressure, if possible.

Organization and implementation:
1. Establish work coordination mechanisms.
2. Establish joint expert guidance groups.
3. Establish online service groups for psychological assistance and social work.
4. Establish work procedures and staff allocation.