Caring for caregivers: Supporting the psychological health and well-being of healthcare workers

Abstract

Pandemic-related stressors exacerbate pre-existing mental health problems for some healthcare workers and cause others to experience problems for the first time. More resources have become available to prevent and reduce the severity of these problems. This article begins with a brief review of some of the current evidence of the problem and then outlines resources and strategies, some of which are based on the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (the Standard). The article describes a case study of the adoption of these resources to reduce stigma and improve resilience among healthcare providers. Finally, the article concludes with a call for more research which is needed to fully understand the effectiveness of these tools and resources in the context of the pandemic as well as additional tools and resources that may be needed.