University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania, United States
Session Description: History is clear – there are significant long-term effects seen from any major crisis, whether a natural disaster, tragic event, or pandemic. From low birth weight to an “epidemic of mistrust. the impact from the 1918 pandemic was estimated to last 60 years. As leaders, we must be aware of the long-term sequela we can expect from COVID-19 and prepare to navigate the challenges and help our colleagues, patients, and communities. This presentation will briefly review what we know from other traumatic events and pandemics and what we we’ve seen with Covid-19 to identify what we can anticipate – in the next year as well as the next decade. We will look at lessons learned from prior experiences and responses to identify how we can lead the way in preparing for and addressing these long-term effects. Approaches and resources covered will include the role of critical incident stress debriefing, coping with ambiguous loss, disenfranchised grief, social distancing, the psychological impacts seen in “long-haulers,” and the rapid rise in symptoms of fear, anxiety, and depression. We will also examine ways to expand training and services we can deliver to those struggling with these issues and provide resources for further training.
Learning Objectives:
After this activity participants should be able to
The attendee will be able to identify the long-term societal, professional, and personal symptoms and struggles we can expect resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic based on information from prior events.
The learner will be able to describe the roles of disenfranchised grief, ambiguous loss, and social distancing in the increases in anxiety and depression.
The participant will be able to identify resources for additional training for pandemic-related issues such as critical incident stress debriefing, treating ambiguous loss and disenfranchised grief.