Evaluation of the condition of social processes based on qualimetric methods: The COVID-19 case

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic mainly affected those target groups who, due to the nature of their duties, were unable to isolate themselves. The consequences of such work are psychological tension with various symptoms. In this situation, the formation of a system for localizing its consequences becomes a very important task. Three parts are distinguished: a quantitative assessment of the scale and nature of the pandemic, a quantitative assessment of the need to localize the consequences and the analysis of current system; third, the formation of a monitoring system. The chosen system allows verbal assessments to be transformed into quantitative ones. Based on it, the aggregated values of seven essential signs of psychological stress in the target groups (medical and social workers, police, customs officers, educators, pharmacists, and entrepreneurs) were identified: anxiety (0.80), stress (0.78), aggression (0.63), insomnia (0.62), persistent fatigue (0.61), depression (0.56), sadness (0.49). The application of the methodology allows forming a monitoring system considering the scale of the pandemic impact and the psychological consequences. The mental distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been shown to be characterized by such negative effects as anxiety, stress, insomnia, persistent fatigue, depression and persistent sadness. The study revealed that the major shortcomings in the system developed for localizing the negative effects are as follows: insufficient efforts of state institutions even in the case the negative effects are getting worse; inadequate provision of psychological assistance conditioned by unreasonably high prices and deficient legal framework.