A member of the medical staff walks by a sign thanking medical workers at Lincoln Hospital in April 2020; while the initial public reaction to the pandemic was to honor health workers, they later found themselves on the frontlines of public frustrationAmerican health workers are facing a mental health crisis intensified by rising harassment that spiked during the Covid pandemic, according to an official report. "We depend on our nation's health workers and they must be supported," said CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry in a statement about the new study, which surveyed more than 500 health workers. Among those health workers who experienced harassment, 60 percent reported feelings of depression, compared to 31 percent who had not experienced harassment. "Positive working conditions, such as trust in management and supervisor help, were associated with lower odds of poor mental health symptoms and burnout," the report said. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a federal agency tasked with recommendations for the prevention of workplace illness and injury, is preparing to launch a national mental health campaign for health workers this fall.

Source: New York Times October 28, 2023 03:05 UTC