Supporting community through digital solutions amid pandemic

Rawalpindi : From the platform of Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan, Dr. Aneela Maqsood (Head of Behavioral Sciences Department) initiated and led a volunteer campaign in alliance with a team of volunteers national and international health professionals.

FJWU extended to build an alliance with Psychology department of the University of Sargodha, Pakistan (Dr. Najma Malik- Chairperson Psy. Dept.), Chief Psychologist (Dr. Shoaib Kiani), University of Sheffield, UK (Dr. Parveen Ali, Lead of Nursing Studies Programme), University of Houston Clear Lake, Houston, Texas USA (Dr. Samian Masood), Gazail Mental Health Services Ltd, Surrey, UK (Director & Prof. Dr. Ghazala Rehman), Kids Hearts Hospital, UAE (Head of Psychology Dept., Prof. Dr. Tahir Saeed), Manchester Global Foundation (Prof. Dr. Nusrat Hussain) and members from UK-Pakistan Science Innovation Global Network (UPSIGN), Pakistan Medical Association (Prof. Dr. Tahir Saeed), members from the British Psychological Society & British Clinical Society, and Mental Health First Aid England.

The team members are committed to offering volunteer services to deal with the massive need for psychological services to support the community. The alliance group is committed to providing psychoeducation, psychological help & counselling using digital solutions.

The alliance team provides a listening ear to the community and frontline health care professionals. Experts are using the digital platforms to offer psychological services to the Pakistani community, to address psychological and medical symptoms associated with the pandemic. Keeping in view the Biopsychosocial Impact of COVID 19, services are provided to individuals and their families having a direct or indirect impact of Pandemic. Based on the Biopsychosocial model, the team is aiming to provide psychoeducation and coping strategies to deal with the mass impact of pandemic upon physical, psychological, & social wellbeing.

In addition to that offer psychological assistance is offer to families to cope with the incidence of abuse (verbal and physical), interpersonal conflicts, and disputes. There is significant scientific evidence (as reported by United Nation 2020) suggesting an increase in physical and verbal violence. Furthermore the team is encouraging people to be more positive in this time of stress as a positive attitude is a key to survive through any time of crisis and offering psychological assistance to families coping with their grief, trauma and psychological symptoms who have lost their loved ones due to COVID-19.

This pandemic has brought significant changes in work and family routines and lifestyle. The team will support the families on how to adjust to the new or novel situations and with rapid changes and social demands. Apart from that experts are providing psychoeducational support fostering a systemic.