Support for healthcare staff

These activities not only help manage anxiety but also reduce stress levels, making them an effective strategy for maintaining mental wellness. Healthcare workers can benefit from incorporating exercise into their daily routines, whether through aerobic exercises like running or strength training exercises. Engaging in regular physical activity is crucial for maintaining both physical and mental health. Practices such as mindfulness, gratitude, and journaling can help improve emotional well-being and manage stress. A significant portion of nurses, around 81%, reported high levels of stress related to their jobs, highlighting the need for effective self-care strategies. Healthcare workers can contact the hotline through phone, online chat, or by texting START to 88788, ensuring they have access to the help they need.

UK Medical Training Reforms and the Path to a Financially Sustainable Future NHS

Rather, many clients brought general personal and professional concerns to coaching calls, some of which likely were exacerbated by the pandemic. Specific items rated positively by most respondents included satisfaction with how the coach listened (77.2%), assessed needs and concerns (64.9%), and provided resources (50.9%); most also agreed that the virtual platform worked well (52.6%). At the time of analysis, CFA had been operating for 24 months in a health system that employs tens of thousands of employees. The client survey included 18 items that assessed client background, reasons for seeking support, and perceived effectiveness of and satisfaction with CFA.

Our Public Healthcare Institutions (PHIs) have introduced new technology-supported initiatives such as online self-assessment tools and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, such as Wysa and BotMD. Meanwhile, self-care and recharge programmes will continue to be conducted on a regular basis to ensure that staff have sufficient rest. Surveys are conducted regularly to better understand staff morale, resilience and capacity to cope with adversity. Campaigns have been launched to raise awareness of mental health issues and to encourage help-seeking behaviours. “These are tools that can work for anyone, Motivational interviewing for behavior change and I think there are a lot of essential workers and other folks that have been under a great deal of stress who could benefit from some of these skills,” Kaysen said.

Our Impact

Although experts can learn from previous disasters and public health crises responses, the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic exposes HCW to unique, chronic stressors, which require medical institutions to respond and support their workers in new and innovative ways that may not have been necessary beforehand . Moreover, a group of international Chinese-speaking mental health experts, established a peer-to-peer psychological support program and crisis intervention for Wuhan HCW through the popular social media application, WeChat. Social media has also played an instrumental role in the development of HCW peer support groups by connecting the global healthcare community and providing broad access to mental health treatment.

Coaches also receive training in when and how to implement the escalation protocol and with respect to connecting individuals in need of higher levels of care to appropriate supports. A call for volunteers was initially put out by health system administrators at the time of program launch; any health system employee or trainee was permitted to apply to volunteer to coach, except for already licensed mental health clinicians. CFA is grounded in principles of Psychological First Aid (9) and therapeutic micro skills and adapted specifically for COVID-19 (i.e., adapted to be delivered via telehealth and to incorporate COVID-19 specific examples to illustrate principles and enhance relevance during the pandemic). CFA is hosted on a digital platform (Penn COBALT), which provides a suite of behavioral health and wellness supports to those affiliated with Penn Medicine. This includes fear of exposure to COVID-19, transmission of the virus to loved ones, a high degree of uncertainty in the work environment, and lack of support for personal concerns—all while juggling demanding careers (2). Team leaders also face stressors similar to those of their staff and a corresponding pressure added to the level of responsibility of their position.

Understanding the Mental Health Challenges Faced by Healthcare Workers

• As described in Psychiatric Times, vicarious trauma happens when caregivers are deeply affected by hearing about or helping with other people’s trauma over and over again.
• Given that the mental health workforce is finite and limited, and that the need for services has only increased during the pandemic, (13) optimizing programs like CFA that leverage lay coaches may be helpful (8).
• Nurses as substitutes for doctors in primary care.
• He is Chair and President of the global health think tank Access Health International.
• The lack of effective treatments, ICU beds, and ventilators in the early days of the pandemic meant mass casualties were a frequent occurrence.

The emotional strain of continuously witnessing suffering and traumatic events can lead to compassion fatigue and secondary trauma. Organizations should ensure that workers’ voices are heard and included in decision making to promote a greater ethical focus. Health-care leaders need to be compassionate and authentic while continuing to learn and grow. Organizations must make every effort to protect time off for all workers.

Mindfulness practices are essential for healthcare workers to effectively manage stress and enhance their mental health. The National Sexual Assault Hotline provides 24/7 support for healthcare workers after sexual assault, ensuring access to necessary resources. These lines offer free crisis counseling and connect healthcare workers to trained crisis counselors who can provide support in times of distress. Crisis support lines provide immediate mental health support tailored to the needs of healthcare workers. Fostering a culture of support and advocacy ensures healthcare staff have the resources needed to maintain their mental health.