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Background: This paper examines the impact of coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak on employees’ mental health, specifically psychological distress and depression. It aims at identifying the main stressors during and post COVID-19, examining the main moderating factors which may mitigate or aggravate the impact of COVID-19 on employees’ mental health and finally to suggest recommendations from a human resource management perspective to mitigate COVID-19’s impact on employees’ mental health.

Methods: This paper is a literature review. The search for articles was made in Google scholar, Web of Science and Semantic scholar. We used a combination of terms related to coronavirus OR COVID-19, workplace and mental health. Due to the paucity of studies on the COVID-19 impact on employees’ mental health, we had to draw on studies on recent epidemics.

Results: The identified literature reports a negative impact of COVID-19 on individual’s mental health. Stressors include perception of safety, threat and risk of contagion, infobesity versus the unknown, quarantine and confinement, stigma and social exclusion as well as financial loss and job insecurity. Furthermore, three dimensions of moderating factors have been identified: organizational, institutional and individual factors. In addition, a list of recommendations has been presented to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the employee’s mental health, during and after the outbreak, from a human resource management perspective.

Conclusions: Coronavirus is new and is in a rapid progress while writing this paper. Most of current research are biomedical focusing on individuals’ physical health. In this context, mental health issues seem overlooked. This paper helps to broaden the scope of research on workplace mental health, by examining the impact of a complex new pandemic: COVID-19 on employees’ mental health, from social sciences perceptive, mobilizing psychology and human resource management.

This case study examines unique overdose risks and prevention strategies for women who have used heroin during pregnancy in New York City. The overdose crisis has resulted in increased efforts to implement drug user health services; yet, pregnant and parenting women who use drugs continue to be left behind. Three women who currently use heroin and had experienced at least one pregnancy during their heroin use history were interviewed using semi-structured qualitative interviews. Their experiences documented in this case study illustrate several gender-specific considerations when responding to the overdose crisis in New York City. Overwhelmingly, barriers to healthcare and overdose prevention were correlated with perceived stigma and the fear of or actual loss of child custody. Compassionate, gender-responsive interventions remain largely absent in policy and practice, especially for pregnant women. The shared experiences highlighted in this case study should be used to develop improved drug user health policies and practices as well as increase overall advocacy efforts for women of reproductive age who use drugs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of the national HIV prevention outreach program for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW).

It examined changes in condom use, lubricant use, HIV testing and counseling (HTC) uptake and sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening uptake, as well as how and why changes did or did not occur. The study applied mixed methods of both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

There were 16,539 MSM, and TGW reached at least three times in the program during October 2011‒September 2012. The program was found to affect changes in condom use with steady partners (p<0.000), condom use with casual partners (p<0.000), water-based lubricant use (p<0.000), HTC uptake (p<0.000) and STIs screening uptake (p<0.000). Age and province of outreach are associated with HTC uptake and STI screening (p<0.000), slightly as well as gender identity (p<0.1). Gender identity and province of outreach are associated with condom use with steady partners (p<0.000). Gender identity (p<0.000) and sex work (p<0.05) are associated with the use of lubricant. The qualitative results showed that the program had an immediate effect on HTC and STIs screening due to successful bond between the outreach workers and their clients, leading to trust and influencing behavior change.

HIV prevention by peer educators continues to be proved the most effective method, assuming its program consistency. TGW are more vulnerable to MSM to protect themselves, and they have steady partners. Future program for MSM can be replicated and scaled up, but more empowerment component and self-esteem building should be integrated to target TGW.

Medical students experience higher rates of mental illness than the general population. With competition rising for success in medical school, and residency, increasing incidence of distress are leading this population to experience higher rates of thoughts of dropping out of school, and even suicide. Since many stigmas deter medical students from receiving mental health counseling, such as the perceived inability to handle the stresses of medical school, and the potential lack of competitiveness for residencies if reported, prevention of mental illness may be a better course to take in reducing prevalence in this population. Regular exercise has demonstrated a positive effect on not only promoting physical health, but also mental health. Exercise encourages a healthy mood, positive self esteem, and better cognition, while decreasing the chances of depression, anxiety, and burnout. Implementing exercise time into medical school curriculums, just like the basic sciences, albeit for less time in the day, could provide a feasible way to ensure that all students are taking time to partake in this important activity for their well being. Though medical schools are rigid with attempts to make changes in their curriculum, thirty minutes a day, three to five times a week of exercise of the students' choice not only is more cost effective than counseling, but it also reduces the chances that they will experience burnout, which if left untreated could transcend into a compromised training experience.

The purpose of this study aimed to assess factors associated with the intention to take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among Thai young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and transgender women (TGW) in Bangkok.

The study surveyed 350 sexually active Thai YMSM and TGW aged between 18 and 24 years registered with a nongovernmental organization (NGO) working with the MSM community. Data were collected using snowball sampling from four venues. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with the intention to take PrEP daily.

The results showed that of all those surveyed, n = 310 (88%) participated. The median age was 21 years. In all, 18% of participants had heard about PrEP, and 36% correctly identified that PrEP is used for prevention. After receiving information, 31% intended to take daily PrEP and the Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) rate was 35.5%. Factors significantly associated with intention to take daily PrEP were history of HIV testing (adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 2.3, 95% CI, 1.3–4.1), and high perceived behavioral control of PrEP adherence scores (AOR 3.0, 95% CI, 1.8–5.2).

This study showed that intention to take and knowledge of daily PrEP among YMSM and TGW was low. Promoting health education to YMSM and TGW about PrEP and MSM-friendly VCT services are needed to effectively implement PrEP in HIV prevention programs.