Furthermore, crises often exacerbate existing inequalities, intensifying disparities in health outcomes and access to care. Lessons learned from recent shocks offer valuable insights into building resilient healthcare systems. Policymakers must regularly assess their healthcare systems to identify vulnerabilities and prepare for potential risks.
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- The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020 by the World Health Organization.1 The pandemic’s short-term and long-term impact on healthcare workers’ mental health and well-being remains largely unknown.
- WHO health workforce support and safeguards list 2023 internet.
- Real-time workforce data, labor analytics, and flexible staffing platforms give leaders better visibility into staffing performance and demand.
- A scoping review was conducted of 51 studies relevant to mental health conditions among healthcare workers during COVID-19, with a focus on low and middle income countries.
Explore ROI insights and frameworks that show how adaptive care drives measurable outcomes and healthier workforces. For years, organizations have turned to therapy-directed care as the cornerstone of workplace mental health. It’s imperative that we prioritize the mental well-being of these workers to ensure the sustainability of our healthcare systems. By offering comprehensive resources and guidance, NIOSH aims to equip both health workers and leaders with the tools they need to foster a culture of support and understanding.
A systematic search was conducted to examine the impact of COVID‐19 on the health and well‐being of MHWs across the globe. Additionally, technological challenges such as appropriate access to hardware, proficiency in using telehealth platforms and unreliable or unstable network connections created additional challenges for both those delivering services, as well as those receiving them, especially in rural areas (Summers‐Gabr 2020). These outcomes differed between inpatient, outpatient and remote settings. Outcomes were categorized into ‘work‐related outcomes’ and ‘personal outcomes’. Inclusion criteria specified articles written in English, published in peer‐reviewed journals, and that examined any outcome of the impact of COVID‐19 on MHWs; 55 articles fulfilled these criteria.
Risk of bias and quality assessments are commonly omitted in rapid reviews (e.g. Crawshaw et al. 2022; Dittborn et al. 2022; Hussein 2022; Magill et al. 2020; Tabari et al. 2020) in order to facilitate the speed of process for timely dissemination of findings that have potentially important implications for current settings (Hamel et al. 2021; Khangura et al. 2012). Given the rapid review methodology, no risk of bias or quality assessment was conducted in the current review. Following data extraction, themes were coded inductively into two themes, work outcomes or personal outcomes, by Z.J. Search results were exported to Endnote bibliographic management software, duplicates removed and the remainder uploaded to Covidence systematic review software (Covidence Systematic Review Software 2022). Additionally, the reference lists of the included studies were searched for extra articles during the database searching; however, no additional articles that fulfilled inclusion criteria were found. Inclusion criteria specified articles published in peer‐reviewed English language journals that examined any outcome of the impact of COVID‐19 on MHWs.
For instance, there are brief psychological interventions that have proven to be effective in managing stress in humanitarian emergencies. While this may offer temporary acknowledgment, it can also seem like a distraction or excuse from attending to the serious challenges frontline workers and other health professionals face in regards to protecting their own health and well-being at work (79). Practicing self-care could however be imperative to coping with the obligations, workload, and demands of their profession, and help health professionals gain a better balance or integration between their work and their spare time—as well as help protect their health, https://www.unmc.edu/newsroom/2021/04/26/town-hall-topic-supporting-wellness-in-health-care-colleagues/ well-being, and satisfaction with both their work and overall life. In the coming months and years, when the “fight or flight” phase of the crisis is over—we will start to see all the different mental health impacts much more clearly. These individuals have been putting their own health and safety at risk for long periods of time, striving to help as many people as they can—while working long hours within stressful environments. Lack of social support and communication, maladaptive coping, and lack of training are important risk factors for developing negative psychological outcomes across different types of disasters (63).
Figure 1. PRISMA diagram showing the study identification and selection process.
However, there were some benefits of telehealth that were reported by MHWs. Interestingly, the transition to telehealth service provision was reported to be accompanied with both challenges and benefits amongst MHWs. MHWs who provided face‐to‐face services and worked on‐site generally reported feeling adequately supported (Billings et al. 2021; Gao & Tan 2021), whereas incidental support that typically occurs within face‐to‐face settings was abruptly removed for those who rapidly transitioned to remote working (Chemerynska et al. 2021; Liberati et al. 2021). Increased stress from the pandemic was suggested to contribute to an inhibition in adaptive coping mechanisms and consequently an increased susceptibility to vicarious trauma (Brillon et al. 2021). The prevalence of compassion fatigue, empathic distress and vicarious trauma was also high amongst MHWs during the COVID‐19 pandemic (Fish & Mittal 2021; Steidtmann et al. 2021).
What this study adds?
Individual and company healthcare data are measured and maintained across time to plan timely interventions. Inseparable works to expand access to care, promote youth mental health, improve crisis response, and strengthen the mental health workforce. In 2023, one in five Coloradans reported they could not get the mental health care they needed, and more than half said they were unable to get an appointment when it mattered most. Thus, mental health professional plays crucial role in various forms from providing care, training, advocacy, rehabilitation to hand holding of the other disaster relief workers. A substantial number of survivors of disasters, pandemics, and other severe stressors develop persistent distress that impairs mental health and well-being. Working with members of the Coalition as well as the Network of Human Resources for Health Focal Points and the Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers (GCNMO) Hub, WHO/Europe reaffirms its commitment to promoting the positive mental health of health and care workers.