Dealing with Stress and Anxiety During Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Our Training Team

Our highly experienced instructors deliver an exceptional training experience that combines professionalism and quality. Our team has extensive expertise in managing stress and anxiety during outbreaks of infectious diseases, particularly in the context of complex emergencies and natural disasters. This enables us to provide training grounded in a deep understanding of the psychological and behavioral challenges present in sensitive humanitarian environments.

Program Objectives

By the end of the program, participants are expected to be able to:

• Distinguish and understand the nature of stress and psychological anxiety associated with infectious disease outbreaks (at the individual, team, and community levels).
• Apply practical techniques for managing stress and anxiety in the context of an infectious disease outbreak.
• Provide initial psychological support (Psychological First Aid) to affected individuals and teams (for example: colleagues, volunteers, community members), taking into account the role of the local organization.
• Build and implement a strategy to enhance psychological resilience – at the team, organization, and local community levels – to reduce the psychological impact in the medium and long term.
• Develop an action plan for their local organization/institution that integrates a systematic role in supporting mental health within the context of infectious disease outbreaks.

Program Methodology

• Interactive approach and short lectures: Presenting fundamental concepts (stress, anxiety, psychological resilience, initial psychological support) with examples from previous outbreaks.
• Small group activities/interactive exercises: Simulating scenarios (scenario workshops), such as: "How do I handle a volunteer experiencing severe fear of infection?" or "How do we communicate with a local community affected by rumors about the disease?"
• Relaxation and stress management exercises: Teaching practical techniques such as deep breathing, mindfulness, and cognitive reframing. (Research indicates that such techniques contribute to enhancing psychological resilience.)
• Initial psychological support (PFA) and experience sharing: Training on the core principles of Psychological First Aid (PFA) in the context of disease outbreaks, along with exchanging experiences among participants from local organizations.
• Institutional/community action plan: Participants develop a plan that integrates the role of their local organization in promoting community mental health during disease outbreaks, including the identification of roles, resources, partnerships, and community communication.
• Closing and follow-up session: Reviewing what has been learned, establishing follow-up and evaluation mechanisms, and exchanging local or network-based support references.

Course Modules

• Below is a proposal for the course content distributed across modules:

Module 1: The Psychological Context of Infectious Disease Outbreaks

• What happens psychologically during an infectious disease outbreak?
• Factors that increase stress and anxiety (fear of infection, loss of control, ambiguity, change in routine, influx of information).
• Its impact on individuals, the team, and the institution, as well as on the local community.
• Quick review of evidence, for example, how research has shown that psychological resilience, community communication, and social support reduce anxiety?

Module 2: Identifying Stress and Anxiety and Managing Them

• Types of common psychological responses during disease outbreaks (anxiety, stress, sleep disturbances, avoidance, hypervigilance).
• Quick self-assessment for participants: How do I currently cope? What are my psychological resources?
• Effective techniques for stress management: breathing, relaxation, mindfulness, cognitive reframing, identifying controllable sources (research indicates the effectiveness of targeted training).
• Simple individual plan for stress management.

Module 3: Initial Psychological Support for Teams and the Community

• What is initial psychological support? What is its role in times of crisis?
• Effective practices: active listening, fostering a sense of safety, reassurance, engaging individuals, referral when needed.
• How can the local organization or team activate this support? For example, setting up a “psychological safe space” for the team, sharing sessions, peer support.
• Simulation exercises for scenarios, for example, a psychologically exhausted volunteer team, a local community suffering from rumors and fear – how do we respond?

Module 4: Building Psychological Resilience in Individuals, Teams, and the Community

• What is psychological resilience and why is it important? Research confirms that resilience, social coping, and support form important protection.
• Strategies to enhance self-efficacy, realistic positive thinking, communication and social support, building support networks, engaging the local community.
• How does your local organization activate its role in enhancing community resilience? For example: community communication programs, support groups, disseminating reliable information, engaging community leaders.
• Designing a community activity within the organization’s plan to enhance the resilience of neighborhood/resident areas.

Module 5: Action Plan for the Institution/Local Organization

• What are the challenges facing your organization in the context of disease outbreaks? And what are the available resources?
• Identifying roles and responsibilities: Who manages the psychological aspect within your organization? Who organizes support teams? Who communicates with the community?
• Regular sessions for psychological support, support hotline, awareness materials for the community, peer training.
• Monitoring and evaluation indicators.
• How do we know that psychological support is ongoing and making a difference? (For example: number of support sessions, participant satisfaction, stress/anxiety levels before and after).
• How to integrate these efforts into your organization’s activities continuously and not just temporarily?