. 2023 Jun 8;2(2):e107. doi: 10.1002/pcn5.107

Table 3.

Overview of the key characteristics of the included reviews.

	Included databases	Search date	Included study design	A limited selection of studies (if any)	Infectious disease	Target population	Mental healthcare/psychological intervention	Outcomes
Pollock et al. ¹⁷	Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Global Index Medicus databases, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, WHO Institutional Repository for Information Sharing, Trials Registrations, and Google Scholar	May 28, 2020	One mixed‐method design described the implementation and evaluation of an intervention and included a qualitative interview component and a cohort study, while two quantitative study designs included some descriptive data. Six qualitative study designs, one mixed‐method design that reported results from quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews, one that described the implementation and evaluation of an intervention, and five that did both.	All articles from 2002 onwards, with no language restrictions.	Four COVID‐19 Nine EVD One MERS Two SARS	Health and social care professionals who worked at the front line during infectious disease outbreaks (epidemics and pandemics).	Interventions at the workplace, including training, structure, and communication (six studies); approaches for psychological support, including counseling and psychological services (eight studies); and multimodal interventions (two studies).	General mental health and resilience, psychological signs of anxiety, depression, or stress, burnout, other mental health disorders, workplace staffing, and adverse events resulting from the interventions were examined to determine the impact of work‐based interventions. The results provided very low‐certainty evidence regarding the impact of training frontline healthcare workers to provide psychological first aid on a measure of burnout.
Yue et al. ¹⁸	PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, WHO Global Database on COVID‐19, and MedRxiv	May 5, 2020	One RCT, one quasi‐experimental intervention, four pre–post interventions, one intervention development, one quantitative interview, eight reports, 14 commentaries, and two reviews.	Excluded non‐English publications	23 COVID‐19 Seven EVD One MERS One SARS	Healthcare workers, psychiatric patients, individuals who were quarantined, family members, older adults, and children.	Group‐based cognitive behavioral therapy, PFA, community‐based psychological art program, and other culturally adapted interventions.	To improve mental health response capacity for ongoing and upcoming infectious disease outbreaks, culturally appropriate, financially viable, and easily accessible strategies integrated into the local and national public health emergency response and established medical systems were likely to be effective. Although tele‐mental healthcare services were important essential elements of care for managing infectious disease outbreaks and providing routine assistance, the value and constraints of distant healthcare delivery should also be acknowledged.
Cénat et al. ¹⁹	EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and PILOTS	Not stated	Any research plan, analysis, or summary of successfully implemented and assessed psychosocial treatments (no statement).	Those launched between 2013 and 2019.	11 EVD	Those who have experienced EVD (survivors, health workers, volunteers, other frontline workers, children, adults, etc.). Two programs focused on impacted children and families, while four programs offered MHPSS to employees and volunteers. Communities and ETCs established other unique programs.	Five programs incorporated the concepts of PFA.	Findings indicated improvements in both children's and adults' mental health. (Culturally tailored MHPSS programs may benefit both adults and children afflicted by EVD and have a positive influence on the relationship between the emotional consequences of EVD and use of preventative measures.)

Included databases

Search date

Included study design

A limited selection of studies (if any)

Infectious disease

Target population

Mental healthcare/psychological intervention

Outcomes

Pollock et al. ¹⁷

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Global Index Medicus databases, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, WHO Institutional Repository for Information Sharing, Trials Registrations, and Google Scholar

May 28, 2020

One mixed‐method design described the implementation and evaluation of an intervention and included a qualitative interview component and a cohort study, while two quantitative study designs included some descriptive data. Six qualitative study designs, one mixed‐method design that reported results from quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews, one that described the implementation and evaluation of an intervention, and five that did both.

All articles from 2002 onwards, with no language restrictions.

Four COVID‐19

Nine EVD

One MERS

Two SARS

Health and social care professionals who worked at the front line during infectious disease outbreaks (epidemics and pandemics).

Interventions at the workplace, including training, structure, and communication (six studies); approaches for psychological support, including counseling and psychological services (eight studies); and multimodal interventions (two studies).

General mental health and resilience, psychological signs of anxiety, depression, or stress, burnout, other mental health disorders, workplace staffing, and adverse events resulting from the interventions were examined to determine the impact of work‐based interventions. The results provided very low‐certainty evidence regarding the impact of training frontline healthcare workers to provide psychological first aid on a measure of burnout.

Yue et al. ¹⁸

PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, WHO Global Database on COVID‐19, and MedRxiv

May 5, 2020

One RCT, one quasi‐experimental intervention, four pre–post interventions, one intervention development, one quantitative interview, eight reports, 14 commentaries, and two reviews.

Excluded non‐English publications

23 COVID‐19

Seven EVD

One MERS

One SARS

Healthcare workers, psychiatric patients, individuals who were quarantined, family members, older adults, and children.

Group‐based cognitive behavioral therapy, PFA, community‐based psychological art program, and other culturally adapted interventions.

To improve mental health response capacity for ongoing and upcoming infectious disease outbreaks, culturally appropriate, financially viable, and easily accessible strategies integrated into the local and national public health emergency response and established medical systems were likely to be effective. Although tele‐mental healthcare services were important essential elements of care for managing infectious disease outbreaks and providing routine assistance, the value and constraints of distant healthcare delivery should also be acknowledged.

Cénat et al. ¹⁹

EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and PILOTS

Not stated

Any research plan, analysis, or summary of successfully implemented and assessed psychosocial treatments (no statement).

Those launched between 2013 and 2019.

11 EVD

Those who have experienced EVD (survivors, health workers, volunteers, other frontline workers, children, adults, etc.). Two programs focused on impacted children and families, while four programs offered MHPSS to employees and volunteers. Communities and ETCs established other unique programs.

Five programs incorporated the concepts of PFA.

Findings indicated improvements in both children's and adults' mental health. (Culturally tailored MHPSS programs may benefit both adults and children afflicted by EVD and have a positive influence on the relationship between the emotional consequences of EVD and use of preventative measures.)

Abbreviations: COVID‐19, coronavirus disease 2019; ETCs, Ebola treatment centers; EVD, Ebola virus disease; MERS, Middle East respiratory syndrome; MHPSS, mental health and psychosocial support; PFA, psychological first aid; RCTs, randomized controlled trials; SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome.