Now, more than ever before, self-care has become a crucial part of mental health and getting through the COVID-19 pandemic.
We shed some light on self-care through Employer-sponsored support in our last post. There is more to consider as anxiety continues to rise and a sense of self-worth becomes harder to hold onto. As healthcare providers communicate the options available, many eyes are turning to the challenging self-care balancing act performed by parents as they take care for their children and too often neglect themselves.
Read on to learn more about these resources.
In a May article, Forbes reported that since the start of the pandemic, 1/3 of Americans have shown signs of anxiety, depression, or both. The Washington Post shared that the spike in screenings for moderate to severe anxiety and depression has risen dramatically from February to May, compared with January.
In an April Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll, 45% of adults in the U.S. confirmed that the anxiety and stress over COVID-19 has negatively affected their mental health. And for parents with children under the age of 18, 57% of women report a negative impact from worrying about the virus. Also, Talkspace, an online therapy company, saw a 65% increase in clients since the middle of February.
The good news: seeking behavioral health services has become increasingly acceptable among consumers in 2020. Suddenly it is not so hard for people to acknowledge a few emotional stability flaws, because so many people share that experience.
A quick Google search shows the self-care resources currently available online and through telehealth are endless. Today, we take a look at some of those resources and look once more to Tessellati's community of healthcare experts for their insight.
The goal: helping providers communicate online self-care tools to parents as a powerful community initiative that both improves population health and builds brand connection.
Helping parents manage stress is the key to family mental health
Where is the community need?
An article posted in May on the Boys and Girls Club of America website speaks directly to parents about the importance of parent self-care and the patience required to meet the varying needs of their children.
Psychology Today posted an article in April that stressed the importance of taking time to decompress, which could involve taking a walk, reading, watching a TV show, taking on a favorite hobby, or just zoning out for a bit.
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The New York State Parent portal website features a COVID-19 tips for parents video lead by Dr. Barbara Stroud that covers self-care tips and encourages parents to build community with each other. Since it was posted in mid-March, this video has received nearly 16,000 views, which shows that there are enough parents seeking help on how to keep themselves and their families resilient.
Many of these self-care articles point out that for children, who may be too young to grasp the big picture, the needs are different. To effectively support their children, parents need to take care of themselves so that they can be present in their children’s lives during the pandemic. A stressed and inattentive parent is less able to offer support for a child’s mental and emotional well-being.
Communicating your support for self-care and clinical services
The Tessellati team understands the realities that go into providing mental health and self-care services and support for parents. Healthcare consumers have a growing need for behavioral health. Importantly, there is a greater understanding that anxiety is real, shareable and treatable.
The Tessellati team’s deep expertise in healthcare communications help organizations deliver the right messaging, using the latest technology platforms. Our long-standing consumer health education work has always been about helping people make informed decisions about their care and the care of their loved ones. These initiatives improve community health and overall resilience while building brand awareness for the healthcare entity providing education and support.
The need for clear, effective, engaging and educational communication has never been greater as we are all getting our information from digital sources. Clear instructions must be paired with the empathy and authenticity that prompts healthy behavior change.
Our team can partner with you to deliver your sensitive external messages effectively to your patients (consumer campaigns), community (brand leadership), and staff (training materials). Adapting and adopting are consistent themes now as we all become capable users of Telehealth services.
In our digital world, we are on a quest to continuously improve user experience for both the patient and the clinician.
Recalling our goal: helping providers communicate online self-care tools to parents as a powerful community initiative that both improves population health and builds brand connection.
To learn more about how we can improve communications around your Telehealth service visit our Telehealth Services page.
