2023-10-26 20:58:00
44% of healthcare workers report wanting to look for a new job, an increase from 33% in 2018. (MR&PR)
The mental health of healthcare workers in the United States is in crisis, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data shows that nearly half of these professionals reported feeling burned out in 2022, up from a third four years earlier. Reports of workplace harassment also doubled compared to previous figures.
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These employees have shown worse mental health outcomes than those who work in other industries. This study comes on the heels of the largest industry strike in the country’s history, in which 75,000 Kaiser Permanente union members expressed exhaustion and persistent staffing shortages in five states and the District of Columbia.
“Healthcare workers usually diligently care for others in their time of need, but now they are the ones suffering, and we must act,” said Debra Houry, CDC medical director.
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Houry added that even before the pandemic, the jobs of these professionals were demanding, with long and unpredictable hours, exposure to infectious diseases, and challenging interactions with patients and their families. Previous research has found that these professionals, especially nurses and healthcare technicians, face a higher risk of suicide compared to people who do not work in the medical field.
According to the CDC representative, the coronavirus pandemic worsened workplace challenges, with healthcare providers facing a surge of patients, long work hours, and supply shortages. These factors have contributed to an increase in mental health complications such as suicidal ideation and, like large parts of the US adult population, problems with substance abuse.
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The report found an increase in days of poor mental health among healthcare workers between 2018 and 2022. In the survey, 44% of healthcare workers reported wanting to look for a new job, an increase from 33% in 2018. While Therefore, the number of essential workers from other areas who intended to look for new employment decreased in the same period.
The pandemic exacerbated mental health challenges in health professionals, the CDC report indicates. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
Additionally, the number of healthcare workers who experienced harassment, including violent threats, intimidation, and verbal abuse from patients and co-workers, increased from 6% to 13% during the study period.
According to the CDC report, bullying had major impacts on the mental health of healthcare workers, with those who reported being bullied were five times more likely to report anxiety compared to those who were not. Those who faced bullying were more than three times more likely to report depression and almost six times more likely to report burnout.
For example, 85% of healthcare workers who experienced harassment reported feeling anxious, compared to 53% of those who did not. Sixty percent of bullying victims reported experiencing depression, nearly double the number of employees who had not experienced bullying.
These consequences, however, can be prevented with improved workplace policies and practices, the report says. The study found that healthcare workers who trusted their management, had enough time to complete their work, and received support from their supervisors were less likely to report burnout.
Casey Chosewood, director of the Office of Total Worker Health at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, urged employers to take immediate preventative measures, noting that supportive work environments had had a positive impact on healthcare workers. .
Additionally, the report recommends that employers encourage “employee participation at all levels” in decision-making, as health care workers who assisted in decision-making were regarding half as likely to report symptoms. of depression. The report notes that supervisors should support their employees by monitoring staffing needs and seriously addressing reports of harassment.
The study was carried out following the largest strike in the healthcare sector in the US, where exhaustion and lack of staff were protested. (REUTERS/Callaghan O’Hare/File Photo)
CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health also plans to launch a national campaign this fall to help hospital leaders address challenges to health care worker well-being, as part of an ongoing initiative by the agency to raise awareness regarding the mental health challenges of healthcare workers.
“We must take the research we have and act, labeling our current and long-standing challenge as a ‘crisis’ is minimizing reality. Patients in our communities, really all of us, will be better off when our healthcare workers are flourishing,” Chosewood told CNN.
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