How to Reduce Mental Health Burden in Health Care Workers During COVID-19?–A Scoping Review of Guideline Recommendations

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented demand and a huge burden for healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide, with alarming reports of heightened mental health problems. To counteract these mental health challenges, guidelines and recommendations for the support of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic have been published. With this scoping review and guideline evaluation, we aim to provide a critical overview of these guidelines and recommendations and to guide policy makers in establishing respective surveillance and care programs. In summary, 41 articles were included in this review which were published between April 2020 and May 2021. Across all articles, the guidelines and recommendations could be clustered into four main categories: “Social/structural support,” “Work environment,” “Communication/Information,” “Mental health support.” Although there was substantial agreement across articles about the recommendations given, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these recommendations is still lacking. Moreover, most recommendations were developed without involving different members of the target group (HCWs) or other involved stakeholders. Strategies to detect potential barriers and to implement these guidelines in clinical practice are lacking.

Vulnerability, loss, and coping experiences of health care workers and first responders during the covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

“…Strategies to address communication issues identified by Halms et al ( 2022 ) are essential based on the experiences described by participants in the present study. Communication strategies are needed to ensure reliable and up-to-date information.…”

“…Strategies are needed at the individual level for health care workers and first responders, at the institutional and health care systems levels, at the community or society level, and at national and global levels. Although a number of strategies have been suggested in the literature and through extensive reviews of studies on this topic (Billings, Ching, Gkofa, Greene & Bloomfield, 2021 ; Halms, Strasser, Kunz & Hasan, 2022 ; Kovner et al, 2021 ), the effectiveness of many of these strategies has yet to be determined (Halms et al, 2022 ).…”

“…In their recent scoping review of strategies to support health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Halms et al ( 2022 ) identified four categories of strategies: social/structural support, work environment, communication, and mental health support. Social/structural support strategies should include support from family, friends, partners, and co-workers, as well as efforts to ensure staff retention through providing adequate compensation, rotating staff, and rethinking nonessential work projects.…”

“…Social support also includes appreciation from employers and from the public, both identified as elusive or non-existent in the current study. Work environment strategies identified by Halms et al ( 2022 ) include a safe and employee-oriented work environment through improved working conditions, the use of best practice protocols, and specific job training and professional development of workers. Other strategies related to the work environment include measures to ensure availability of protective equipment and to minimize risk of transmission of the virus to workers.…”

“…Halms et al ( 2022 ) also discussed the all-important issue of mental health support of the health care workforce. Of critical importance is the need to identify high-risk individuals showing early signs of mental distress, as well to provide self-help strategies, guidance on resilience, and access to mental health services, either in person or through on-line mechanisms.…”