Table 2B.

Mental health of HCWs during COVID-19: recommendations for policy and practice.

Recommendations for policy and practice
Addressing emerging disparities by worker role, age, sex, socioeconomic status, race, and ethnic identity; Policies focused on equity and more egalitarian workplace culture
Developing strategies to deal with protracted stress, grief, bereavement and using team science principles to improve organizational climate and leadership skills in managers and senior staff; routine assessment of stress, burn out and other mental health indicators and provision of timely, holistic support
Decision support system to help HCW address mental health and well-being of diverse at-risk populations and those with multimorbidity; inclusion of self-care modules to attend to their own stress and strains; especially enhanced support for the well-being and work performance of HCWs in humanitarian settings and those working directly with COVID-19 response and with key populations
Human rights-based and social justice services and training of HCWs who are embedded within ongoing emergency response
Development of brief, low intensity interventions addressing resilience, emergency preparedness and improved mental health outcomes, looking at short and long term mental health outcomes
Social and family needs of HCWs to be addressed at health systems level