Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

40 PATIENT AND CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE COVID-19 surges threaten healthcare workers' mental health, WHO warns By Kelly Gooch T he World Health Organization is warn- ing about the rising risk of mental health challenges healthcare workers face amid a global surge of COVID-19, e Washington Post reported March 31. e warning came in the WHO's weekly epi- demiological report tracking coronavirus over the seven-day period ending March 28. In the report, the organization revealed more than 3.8 million new COVID-19 cases reported in the week ending March 28 globally, as well as new coronavirus deaths climbing by 5 percent over the week of March 28 compared to the week prior. When COVID-19 cases surge, healthcare work- ers continue to face mental health challenges, the WHO said, citing studies that show that healthcare workers report higher prevalence of conditions such as anxiety and depression com- pared to other professional groups. e WHO specifically cited a study published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health of 2,884 healthcare workers from the U.S., France, Ger- many, Italy, Spain and the U.K. Researchers in that study found sleep and burnout may be coronavirus risk factors in some healthcare workers. In another study cited by the WHO, research- ers found healthcare workers reported higher levels of anxiety (13 percent versus 8.5 percent), depression (12.2 percent versus 9.5 percent), and rates of insomnia (38.4 percent versus 30.5 percent), compared to professionals who are not healthcare workers. "As the pandemic continues, more evidence has been collected to describe the challenging working and psychosocial conditions [health- care workers] face daily," the WHO said. e organization concluded that it is essential healthcare workers be adequately supported to ensure their physical and mental well-being. n Brigham and Women's CNO launches podcast on resiliency By Erica Carbajal M addy Pearson, DNP, RN, CNO at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital, has started the Resiliency Roadmap podcast focused on how nurses can build resiliency and practice self-care, WGBH, a local NPR station, reported March 31. Dr. Pearson hosts the series, which features interviews with nurses and other experts on topics such as sleep health, moral distress, trauma-informed care and joy, among others. Given that nurses spend 95 percent of their time at patients' bedside, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were particularly difficult for them, which is part of what inspired the podcast, Dr. Pearson said. "Nursing has a very special place, a very special vision and voice as we care for patients," Dr. Pearson told WGBH. "Nurses know the patients so much deeper and greater. So the impact, then, of the pandemic on the bedside nurse, on the clinical nurse … was that much greater. And that's why it was so important that we all speak with this nursing lens, and this nursing voice, and kind of bring light to that." n 1 in 6 healthcare employees would rather quit than get vaccinated By Hannah Mitchell A s COVID-19 vaccines become more readily available, healthcare companies are debating to what extent they should pressure their employees to be immunized, according to an April 5 article pub- lished by The Washington Post. Some healthcare companies have already mandated that employees at least have an appointment for a vaccine to protect their patients. At Silverado's 22 assisted living communities, not one location had more than 80 percent of the staff vaccinated after the first round of a companywide vac- cination clinic. Some sites were barely at half of the staff. In response, Silverado mandated that staff must have at least an appoint- ment for a shot as a condition of their job. With about 1,300 employees at memory-care facilities, Silverado has said 137 employees asked for an exemption of the mandate, 10 employees have re- signed, and more than two dozen are on leave while they decide what to do. The other 1,000 have gotten their COVID-19 shots. According to a Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation poll, nearly 6 in 10 healthcare employees said they would support a COVID-19 vaccina- tion mandate. More than 3 in 10 said they did not intend to get vaccinated or were undecided. Within that group, more than 8 in 10 said they would oppose a vaccine man- date, and nearly two-thirds said they would leave their job if it was required. The poll found that 1 in 6 healthcare workers said they would leave their job rather than get the COVID-19 vaccine. n

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