A pandemic represents an outbreak of a disease that covers a large area on the geographical map causing the loss of many lives and others just affecting them. Several pandemics over the past few years have proved to be fatal as they affect most people all over the continent. The casualties are far much direr at the beginning since it is in these periods that there are no vaccines or medication to either reduce, stop or prevent other people from contracting the diseases. A mental health pandemic will depict the prospect of an outbreak of mental illnesses over a wide geographical region (Arango et al., 2018). The illness has spread rampantly since much about the disease has become peculiar in recent stages.
Mental health concerns are a leading cause of worry in the healthcare setup in the world. Some mental health disorders that pose significant threats include the likes of schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and depression (Andrews et al., 2020). In the United States, at least one out of every five people has a mental illness. The rise in mental health cases contributes to the major factors that threaten the existence of culminating health concerns. Mental health disorders have effects on how people perform their tasks. These conditions magnify the kind of stress that the individuals and their families undergo, seeing that their loved ones have no will to stop what is already occurring.
The current government and the previous ones in the United States have continued to show some interest in the fight against mental health problems. The Health Care Act dates back to the time of the second president, and it has continued to survive in order to provide quality health care to its citizens at all costs (Arango et al., 2018). The different governments contained different approaches to handling the problems, more so in comparison with the health care setup, which includes allocating funds to aid in the treatment process. The essay compares the different approaches that these governments used to ensure that at least their people got the best health care that aided them in their recovery process.
The current United States government has specifically tried to solve this menace of pandemic and mental health issues. One particular manner represents that the government came up with a task force with the sole mandate of assessing these conditions. The task force entails certain measures that it must incorporate to ensure that any cases get reported as early as possible to find a remedy (Barry et al., 2019). The people are honored to be in the task force consisting of members of various government agencies and mental health experts and professionals with knowledge about the specific field of interest. The task force has set up various stipulations that help provide the strategies to be taken if there is a calamity to reduce the number of fatalities. The guidelines allow the agency to provide physical, emotional, and even spiritual support to the families, individuals, and communities that might become the most hit.
Moreover, the current government announced the deployment of more behavioral health providers to the communities that cannot get these services concerning the increasing mental health cases. The president, Biden, announced that there was a need to change the overall picture of the healthcare systems in terms of how they treat patients. The major factors that he argues need to be changed are the diversity and cultural competencies of the health practitioners in order to strengthen the crisis response team. There was also the allocation of over $700 million to various programs whose main aim is to improve the allocation of behavioral health programs and fund mental health institutions (The White House, 2022). The state also created the approach of training paraprofessionals to aid doctors and nurses in dealing with mental health problems, even in front-line health workers.
The previous governments had different approaches to tackling incidences of pandemics and mental health cases. The most connected cases were the issue of the pandemics as compared to the mental health cases. The major reason behind this was that the pandemic was majorly related to the government than the mental health problems left for the health department and ministries. The previous government hence had an approach of allocating resources to the ministries to help them put in the effort of curbing these cases in the hospitals and when they arose as for pandemics. The 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act represents one of the many previous methods to handle cases involving mental crises by the previous governments (The White House, 2022). The creation of research programs tasked with the development of cures and medication for the diseases that became rampant in the case of a pandemic.
All the administrations tried to contribute to one particular aspect: allocating resources to the fight against mental health problems and how to deal with the pandemics. A particular resource that administrations used was the increase in the allocation of funds. The dissemination problem would be solved by the increase in the amount of funding to the organization to aid in the provision of services (Barry et al., 2019). Additionally, more people would be taught how to deal with the problems of stress and depression. Another resource that the administrations used to their advantage was the schools and colleges to promote the widespread knowledge on how to best tackle these situations. There have been programs dedicated to spreading the need to share problems, creating the safe space people need, and requiring the introduction of suicidal thoughts. Other resources include research programs for diseases and the creation of drugs and vaccines helpful in treating mental problems while offering preventive immune systems towards epidemic diseases.
The administrative agency that would most likely be responsible for handling issues to deal with mental health problems is the department of Health and Human Services. The agency contains all aspects related to the research and control of diseases that arise in pandemics and simultaneously covers issues to deal with family problems and child support (Agencies –”Health and Human Services Department,” 2019). At least the areas concerned with the people’s welfare remain covered within the Health and Human Services bracket. The agency is most helpful for mental health and pandemics since it covers a diverse area that will not discriminate against the kind of problem presented in case a problem arises.
The mental health program and pandemics can arrive at the presidential agenda in several ways. Constant pressure by making safe and accepted rallies to notify the health department will make the president need to address the issue as one of their agendas (Arango et al., 2018). Another way is the constant input to the various health professionals of various organizations that have access to the president’s cabinet and can inform them of any factors that need to be considered as part of their agenda. In order to ensure that the agenda stays in place, the public must constantly check on the progress made to change the current state of affairs until all that is said has been implemented.
The need to use a celebrity to move the issue forward would be most beneficial and will at least catch the attention of most departments and even the president. One particular feature essential for moving the mental health problem forward is that the celebrity will sponsor the entire movement and ensure that their fans stand with them, creating a movement until the issue is resolved (Barry et al., 2019). The response would also be quick since there will be not only local commotions, but the issue might spread to other countries and regions that were not intended. In order to avoid damage to the public image, the president’s cabinet would be forced to look upon measures that can be used to handle the situation.
The need to present the issue of mental health and pandemics to a legislator for legislation requires a clear articulation of the important aspects of the health concern. First, mental care is a key component in individuals’ overall health care and well-being. Mental health problems can also become exacerbated by natural calamities, which in this case represent pandemics that cause stress levels and depression among the target groups (Barry et al., 2019). Mental problems are also associated with various issues, such as increased mortality rates, reduced life expectancies, and generally poor health.
The nurse becomes crucial in implementing the treatment process and dealing with mental health problems and pandemics. The nurses are the primary caregivers to offer support and assurance to the patients. They also play a role in ensuring that people get enlightened on ways to help patients with mental problems and measures to deal with illnesses in case of a pandemic. The nurses’ role becomes crucial in ensuring that people with mental health conditions receive the best care and, at the same time, ensuring that the patients being treated with cases that can spread become enlightened on the importance of keeping the rest safe.
References
Agencies – Health and Human Services Department. (2019). Federal Register. Web.
Andrews, J. H., Cho, E., Tugendrajch, S. K., Marriott, B. R., & Hawley, K. M. (2020). Evidence-based assessment tools for common mental health problems: A Practical Guide for School Settings. Children & Schools, 42(1), 41–52. Web.
Arango, C., Díaz-Caneja, C. M., McGorry, P. D., Rapoport, J., Sommer, I. E., Vorstman, J. A., McDaid, D., Marín, O., Serrano-Drozdowskyj, E., Freedman, R., & Carpenter, W. (2018). Preventive strategies for mental health. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(7), 591–604. Web.
Barry, M. M., Clarke, A. M., Petersen, I., & Jenkins, R. (Eds.). (2019). Implementing Mental Health Promotion. Springer International Publishing. Web.
The White House. (2022). FACT SHEET: President Biden to Announce Strategy to Address Our National Mental Health Crisis, Part of Unity Agenda in his First State of the Union. The White House. Web.