The mental and emotional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers has been well documented, with HHS announcing in July the availability of an estimated $103 million in American Rescue Plan funding to address this issue.
Some workers have even left their jobs amid overwhelming circumstances created by the pandemic, citing insufficient pay, lack of opportunities and burnout. A poll conducted in September from Morning Consult, a global privately held data intelligence company, showed nearly 1 in 5 healthcare workers, or 18 percent, had quit their jobs since February 2020.
To improve and protect the mental health and well-being of healthcare workers, the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health unveiled a five-part mental health protection plan during a webinar on Nov. 18, according to Medscape.
The plan involves a primary prevention approach for healthcare worker mental health. According to Medscape and slides shared with Becker's, it includes:
- Understanding the daily personal, social and economic burdens facing healthcare workers
- Assimilating evidence and developing best practices, resources and interventions
- Collaborating with the American Hospital Association, the American Nurses Association, National Nurses United, The Joint Commission and other stakeholders
- Identifying and adapting tools for the healthcare workplace that focus on stress reduction
- Generating awareness about stress through a national, multidimensional social marketing campaign
Access the Medscape article here.