Breaking Down Mental Health Stigmas in Pakistan
A Blog Post by APF Fellow Farva Batool
My summer APF fellowship provided me with the opportunity to work with Sehat Kahani, an all-female telemedicine organization, that aims to provide healthcare to the underprivileged and under-served communities throughout the country.
I worked on a research project to analyze the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on healthcare professionals. We hypothesized, that with the immense increase in the positive cases and increased responsibilities of the physicians, the mental health of healthcare professionals is greatly affected. The project also intended to de-stigmatize discussions about mental health issues, especially among women.
Research Design
We distributed an anonymous questionnaire to our study population and then analyzed our findings. Then we conducted a focus group discussion to collect qualitative data regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on healthcare providers. Our goal was to understand what policies the Sehat Kahani team might put in place to mitigate stresses on healthcare providers.
A total of 77 participants filled out the questionnaire and 6 physicians participated in the focus group. The quantitative and qualitative results from the questionnaire and the focus group discussion respectively supported our hypothesis that there are mental health impacts on healthcare professionals due to COVID-19. Our findings concluded that:
Out of 77 participants, 68% of the physicians reported that they feel stressed due to COVID-19.
The majority of the participants mentioned that they had difficulty falling or staying asleep (76%), felt anxious or nervous (68%), and felt restless (77%).
94% of the physicians mentioned that they felt afraid for their own health and/or loved one’s health.
The Pressures on Mental Health
Various factors that affected the mental health of healthcare professionals during the pandemic. Some of the determinants addressed were: extended work hours, media reporting of the outbreak, financial crises, remote work, home-schooling, and family responsibilities. Physicians felt that prolonged work hours, altered social life, and persistent worry for their family members’ health have impacted their mental health. One of the participants mentioned “we had a lot of burden of incoming patients. We had to monitor around 82-100 patients each day. So it was like extra working hours for us.”
The qualitative analysis from the focus group discussion also highlighted some resilient factors that supported the physicians to reduce their mental health burden. Support from family members was mentioned by all the physicians when talking about coping mechanisms during the pandemic. The quantitative data supported the similar resilient factor highlighted by the focus group (i.e. 93% of the participants agreed that support from family members can help reduce stress and anxiety levels). One of the participants mentioned “my husband and my kids are supporting me and are very much cooperative, they're already very understanding and I can't ask anymore, they're very helpful in all the ways.”
All the physicians agreed that support at work in the form of group discussions, motivational speaker sessions, and focus groups can help healthcare professionals to cope better with the mental health issues rising due to COVID-19. One of the participants mentioned “Motivational and informative videos will be helpful. Awareness sessions, as there is a stigma related to mental health can be helpful.”
As an APF fellow working for Sehat Kahani during the summer, I obtained incredible knowledge about COVID-19 and the challenges of conducting a research study remotely. I am extremely thankful for the APF program and Sehat Kahani for providing me with an opportunity to connect with my culture and serve my community. I was very excited about this research project, as I’ve previously worked with on various mental health projects related to refugee populations. The AFP fellowship provided me with an opportunity to talk and connect with strong healthcare professionals about a stigmatized and under-studied topic in Pakistan.
The Best Experience of 2020
Although the experience was completely virtual due to the pandemic, I acquired incredible knowledge about the different impacts of COVID-19 on patients and their healthcare providers; the cultural differences in practicing medicine in different countries; the various public health issues in Pakistan; and the challenges of conducting a research study remotely.
The other APF fellows and I were connected with various national and international public health organizations. All the sessions were extremely informative as we were able to learn and connect with health officials from various cities in Pakistan. This was extremely beneficial for my professional development as I hope to work in the field of international public health one day. The Sehat Kahani team also organized various entertaining and culturally informative sessions to make the fellowship beneficial, despite the limitations of our virtual engagement. One of my favorite sessions was a conversation with the CEO of Food Fusion, a digital food channel based in Pakistan. The APF Fellowship was one of the best experiences I had in 2020.