Spring 2022 Post 3

Health-care workers involved in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic are often required to work in highly challenging conditions and may therefore be at increased risk of experiencing mental health problems. This Comment sets out a practical approach to protecting the mental health of health-care workers based on contemporary evidence.

 

 

Supporting the mental health of HCWs is not just morally justified — done well it should lower the risk of mental illness and maximize the opportunity for staff to experience psychological growth8 from overcoming the challenges faced during the pandemic. As described previously, the unwritten psychological contract between HCWs, their managers and the public has been that staff members will give their all to save lives and in return the nation does all it can to protect their mental health through the provision of proper support. Although rapid access to effective evidence-based treatments will be needed for an important minority of HCWs as a result of the stressors experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, a substantial evidence base supports the notion that health-care managers have a substantial role in protecting the mental health of their staff as well as in helping those that need additional care and support to access it.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41581-020-0314-5