Psychological health of aging mental healthcare social workforce amidst coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic.

Coronavirus Disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) has unprecedented impact on aging healthcare system and aging healthcare providers. Aging healthcare social workers have taken a toll in terms of mental health impact. Geriatric mental healthcare social workforce working for the functioning and well‐being of community is active in provision of psychological services to diverse population. However, their own well‐being, mental health and psychological impact of working amidst the viral infection's pandemic have been overlooked. It is imperative to focus on geriatric mental healthcare force for cultivating resilience, foster coping strategies and practicing mindfulness.

COVID‐19 has been affecting healthcare system and healthcare providers indiscriminately in unprecedented ways. The pandemic not only brought the high mortality rate from the viral infection but also psychological distress and mental health issues to the rest of the world. Uncertainty and unpredictability of pandemic outbreak of infectious disease from its epidemiological features, novelty, severity, intensity, frequency and immediacy, scale, implication for international public health, data index, (mis)infodemics, impact on psychological, emotional, behavioral, social and mental health, and under‐preparedness to cope with pandemic outbreak are considerably high potential risk factors. Experts have advised self‐isolation, quarantine, and lockdown but the necessary restriction could have seriously detrimental impacts on mental and physical health, educational, social, cultural, and economic short‐term and long‐term effects especially for vulnerable population. Aging healthcare workforces' physical and mental health was already an overlooked public health issue before the advent of the anew public health crisis of COVID‐19 pandemic outbreak. , Aging mental healthcare workforce is in a combat on frontline with the uncertain and unpredictable opponent and still no evidence‐based treatment to overthrow the novel coronavirus. The stressors of virus' human to human transmission and helping individuals' physical and mental health while putting own life in danger, added with burnout, exhaustion, and workplace and personal stressors, and increased volume and severity in individuals contribute further emotional and psychological trauma. However, the question is that can they maintain their own well‐being and mental health amidst of this traumatic situation.

Can aging mental healthcare workforce cultivate resilience, foster coping mechanisms, and practice mindfulness?

The potential for resilience is not a unique trait that whether one possess or not or an outcome in the absence of posttraumatic stress. The capacity for resilience is a process of an adaptation. Coping mechanism is not the product of personality trait; it is rather a learned pattern of behavior which one develops over the period of time. Mindfulness is the psychological process of purposely bringing one's attention in the present moment which one develops with practice. These three constructs have one aspect common: a process. These all are processes and they can be acquired with practice. Resilience, coping, and mindfulness are not single dichotomously measured outcomes. Strengthening of these processes required reinforcement of deliberate practice by experiencing and learning dynamically throughout ones' life. Aging mental healthcare workforce can adapt these processes in the face of a traumatic event and consequently on multiple drastic outcomes.

Resilience, coping, and mindfulness are the processes of adaptation in the face of adversity, trauma, disaster, distress, threat, and other sources of stress. Looking at this pandemic outbreak with the perspective, reframing the appraisal, considering its effects on their own lives and the lives of others and yet promptly identify with the event, reflect on the leveraged and developed skills, cognizance the actions, find collateral lessons, and deliberately navigate reasons to keep going could be the deliberate ways for aging healthcare workforce to consider. Narrative, sources, resources and their correspondence could help healthcare workforce identify and harness these processes.

In the context of COVID‐19, aging mental healthcare workforce’ resilience, coping, and mindfulness resources are individual (skills), community (social support), and existential (sense of meaning and finding purpose). Aging mental healthcare workforce could deliberately set short‐term goals for working after a stressful day by identifying and mapping SMART goals (specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and timely) towards their achievements in any context. Aging mental healthcare workforce could cultivate resilience, coping strategies, and mindfulness by navigating the sense of meaning and purpose in the here‐and‐now. Community could value their contributions to boost their morale (like Google Doodle has). Aging mental healthcare workforce's self‐appreciation, self‐appraisal, gratitude, hope, altruism, mercy, humility, life satisfaction, pride and awe, bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality, zest, love, kindness, social intelligence, and being present—could be cultivated to keep emotional subjective well‐being, functioning, and flourishing in these times. These actions are promotable and not necessarily have to be complicated and contextual. Aging mental healthcare workforce has to proactively and deliberately harness resources to navigate their experience in a flow for them to thrive in order to adopt positive traits to adapt with the COVID‐19 pandemic outbreak.