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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
Doha
THE first Qatar-Longitudinal Assessment of Mental Health in Pandemics (Q-LAMP) study will help understand the impact of COVID-19 and how it is affecting the mental health and well-being of Qatar’s population, according to health officials.
The officials have invited members of the public, who are above 18 years of age and who can speak Arabic or English, to take part in the survey as according to them, it will be beneficial not only for decision-makers, but for people at large in Qatar.
The joint research study launched last month by HMC, in conjunction with Qatar University, aims at investigating the social and psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Qatar’s population.
Speaking in a video, HMC Chairman of Psychiatry Dr Majid Al Abdallah said, “The health sector in Qatar has gone through major changes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Having been aware fully of the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the population, we introduced strategic changes in mental health services in recent months in order to provide emergency and non-emergency psychological support and services to all residents in Qatar to maintain the safety of everyone during this pandemic.”
Dr Abdallah added, “This study will help us understand the impact of this pandemic and how it is affecting the mental health and well-being of Qatar’s population over time. This data, which we are hoping to collect from you, will provide important information for launching awareness campaigns and equipping mental health services to be better prepared to face such crises in the future.”
The CEO of HMC’s Mental Health Service and Qatar National Health Strategy 2018-2022 lead for Mental Health and Wellbeing Iain Tulley said that Qatar has adopted a very strong approach to safeguard mental health since the outbreak of COVID-19 a few months ago. “Mental health services have been provided through community health services right from the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak,” he said.
He added that following the outbreak of the pandemic, HMC’s Mental Health Service, in collaboration with Ministry of Public Health, created a helpline with mental health specialists, including psychologists and psychiatrists, to provide an array of psycho-social interventions in many different languages.
He urged people to take part in the study in order to continue providing support in times of need.
“This study aims to assess the mental health and well-being of Qatar’s population, including factors that impact people’s ability to cope with this crisis and to identify vulnerable segments of population who may need more support,” he said.
One can register for the study on http://q-lamp.com. To complete the survey, please type the survey link into your browser: https://sesri.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5hcCrkDWRpwbsQl
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21/09/2020
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