Mental Health Awareness Among Healthcare Professionals

 Mental Health Awareness among Healthcare Professionals

Aditi Kapoor

           The field of healthcare is incredibly rewarding–providing healthcare professionals with the opportunity to directly bring about a positive change in patients’ lives, while also contributing to research and development across specialties.

However, healthcare professions can also be very draining, with the long hours, emotionally charged interactions with patients and their families, and liability issues all contributing to the stress that comes with the field. This stress can manifest in numerous ways, particularly in the form of mental health issues, which ultimately impact one’s physical health too.

         In recent years, there has been an increase in mental health awareness and its health-related consequences are well-documented. It is especially important to focus on the mental health of healthcare professionals, several of whom have reported struggling with mental health issues due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which had devastating consequences. The pandemic created a whole new set of challenges, such as the increased workload, changing protocols, increased risk of infection for both the healthcare workers and their families, and a shortage of resources.

        A recent review showed that the global prevalence of mental health issues among healthcare workers has risen to 49% as a result of the pandemic, a significantly higher rate than that of the general populace (Saragih et al., 2021). Moreover, the pooled stress rate among healthcare workers was around 40% (Serrano-Ripoll et al., 2020, 347-357) .More research suggested that the risk of developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among frontline resuscitation workers was greater than 10% (Walton et al., 2020, 241-247). 

       These statistics are alarming, and rightfully so. It is ironic that healthcare providers themselves often lack access to adequate healthcare resources. It is important to create a healthy working environment which will help ensure that healthcare professionals can carry out their duties without getting burnt out or overwhelmed. This requires systemic changes by hospital management, such as accessibility to resources such as in-house counseling services. 

        This also illustrates the importance of having a strong support system. Social support can help mitigate the negative impacts on mental health, acting like a buffer against stressors and negative life events. Being able to reach out to loved ones when you are struggling emotionally, and healthy communication with colleagues at work in order to divide the workload efficiently can help ease the burden.

       Apart from access to professional care, other coping strategies to help stabilize one’s mental health include having a regulated sleep schedule and adequate physical activity. Research has proved that an increase in sleep time and quality can lead to better mental health outcomes. (Scott et al., 2021) Moreover, longer working hours are associated with poorer mental health status, along with a positive correlation with sleep disturbances (Afonso et al., 2017, 377-382). Exercise not only releases endorphins which help improve mood, but it can also help prevent the consequences of other stressors on one’s mental health, while also delaying the onset of neurodegenerative disorders (Deslandes et al., 2009, 191-198). A possible solution would be to reduce working hours for healthcare professionals, while also providing recreational facilities or comfortable sleeping spots in healthcare settings. 

     While the mental health crisis certainly is concerning, it can definitely be addressed in a multitude of ways. We need to ensure that our caregivers are cared for, just like they care for us.

References

Afonso, P., Fonseca, M., & Pires, J.F. (2017, June). Impact of Working Hours on Sleep and Health. Occupational Medicine, 67(5), 377-382. https://academic.oup.com/occmed/article/67/5/377/3859790

Deslandes, A., Moraes, H., Ferreira, C., Veiga, H., Silveira, H., Mouta, R., Pompeu, F. A.M.S., Coutinho, E. S. F., & Laks, J. (2009, August 1). Exercise and Mental Health: Many Reasons to Move. Neuropsychobiology, 59(4), 191-198. Karger. https://doi.org/10.1159/000223730

Saragih, I. D., Tonapa, S. I., Saragih, I. S., Advani, S., Batubara, S. O., Suarilah, I., & Lin, C. (2021, September). Global prevalence of mental health problems among healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 121(104002). ScienceDirect.

Scott, A. J., Webb, T. L., Martyn-St James, M., Rowse, G., & Weich, S. (2021, December). Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 60. ScienceDirect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101556

Serrano-Ripoll, M. J., Meneses-Echavez, J. F., Ricci-Cabello, I., Fraile-Navarro, D., Fiol-deRoque, M. A., Pastor-Moreno, G., Castro, A., Ruiz-Pérez, I., Campos, R. Z., & Gonçalves-Bradley, D. C. (2020, December 1). Impact of viral epidemic outbreaks on mental health of healthcare workers: a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 277, 347-357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.034

Walton, M., Murray, E., & Christian, M. D. (2020, April). Mental health care for medical staff and affiliated healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care, 9(3), 241-247. Sage Journals. https://doi.org/10.1177/2048872620922795