Employees in at-risk organizations such as healthcare and public safety are at high risk of experiencing psychological distress (PD). If causes and underlying factors of PD are not well-understood and if PD is not addressed early on, it can lead to several psychosocial problems and mental health disorders. Those, in turn, can generate significant financial costs for society, and negatively impact both the proper functioning of organizations, and the quality of services offered to the population. Despite the advancement of health services through the wide implementation of digital technologies, up to date, PD treatment services have not been able to meet the demand. This situation has worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak of COVID-19 promoted increasing numbers of digital interactions, and forced people to be online more. This certainly had positive effects, such as rapid progress in digital health services. However, the increasing digitalization related to COVID-19 also has negative consequences (video conference fatigue, higher use (disorder) scores, impacts on well-being in general, etc.). Such phenomena are closely linked to PD and need to be understood more thoroughly. Also, potential treatments/interventions are important. In this context, scientific knowledge guiding PD prevention practices remain limited to the treatment of psychopathological problems. As a result, individuals and organizations are left to deal with PD on their own.
This Research Topic aims to enhance knowledge on underlying factors and causes as well as practices of psychological distress prevention based on research. Two types of prevention are of particular interest: primary prevention which refers to practices that aims to prevent the emergence of psychological distress and secondary prevention which comprises rapid and immediate interventions aimed at slowing the progression of psychological distress and mitigating its risk factors. It must also be about practices in organizational settings. In addition, we aim to increase knowledge about practices, so the goal is to foster adaptation, rather than treat pathology. These are therefore practices that can be offered outside of psychotherapeutic contexts.
This Resarch Topic is interdisciplinary and open to all research methodologies. We welcome original research as well as literature reviews and meta-analysis. Special interest will be given to articles dealing with digital mental health and peer support.
Employees in at-risk organizations such as healthcare and public safety are at high risk of experiencing psychological distress (PD). If causes and underlying factors of PD are not well-understood and if PD is not addressed early on, it can lead to several psychosocial problems and mental health disorders. Those, in turn, can generate significant financial costs for society, and negatively impact both the proper functioning of organizations, and the quality of services offered to the population. Despite the advancement of health services through the wide implementation of digital technologies, up to date, PD treatment services have not been able to meet the demand. This situation has worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak of COVID-19 promoted increasing numbers of digital interactions, and forced people to be online more. This certainly had positive effects, such as rapid progress in digital health services. However, the increasing digitalization related to COVID-19 also has negative consequences (video conference fatigue, higher use (disorder) scores, impacts on well-being in general, etc.). Such phenomena are closely linked to PD and need to be understood more thoroughly. Also, potential treatments/interventions are important. In this context, scientific knowledge guiding PD prevention practices remain limited to the treatment of psychopathological problems. As a result, individuals and organizations are left to deal with PD on their own.
This Research Topic aims to enhance knowledge on underlying factors and causes as well as practices of psychological distress prevention based on research. Two types of prevention are of particular interest: primary prevention which refers to practices that aims to prevent the emergence of psychological distress and secondary prevention which comprises rapid and immediate interventions aimed at slowing the progression of psychological distress and mitigating its risk factors. It must also be about practices in organizational settings. In addition, we aim to increase knowledge about practices, so the goal is to foster adaptation, rather than treat pathology. These are therefore practices that can be offered outside of psychotherapeutic contexts.
This Resarch Topic is interdisciplinary and open to all research methodologies. We welcome original research as well as literature reviews and meta-analysis. Special interest will be given to articles dealing with digital mental health and peer support.