London researchers get federal funding to adapt nationwide PTSD program for health-care workers

Two London, Ont., researchers received funding from the federal government to launch a nationwide program that focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the mental well-being of health-care workers. 

Dr. Don Richardson and Dr. Anthony Nazarov at the Lawson Health Research Institute got $2.8 million from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to adapt the existing Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) program, originally created for the Canadian Military.

"R2MR has been well used and established to provide some general education about mental wellness as well as promoting resiliency," Richardson said. "Our objective is to adapt this program for health-care workers."

A total of $28.2 million in funding was awarded to nine projects addressing PTSD and trauma in frontline and essential workers impacted by the pandemic across Canada. 

The investment announced at the University of Regina on Monday is part of the federal 2021 budget's commitment to allocate $50 million over two years to support such projects. 

Frontline and essential workers have sacrificed a lot to keep Canadians safe and healthy throughout the pandemic, and they deserve support, said Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

"With today's investment, our government is helping create new tools to support those most at risk of PTSD and encourage their healing process, all while reducing stigma and removing barriers to care," she added.

Adapting to reach a wider audience

Richardson believes that the need for this program always existed, but its importance wasn't realized until the pandemic came around and exacerbated mental health challenges. 

"The health-care worker population has been significantly impacted," he said. "One of the main reasons we felt this was necessary stems from a recent study our team conducted that focused on moral distress and the mental health of Canadian health care workers."

He and Nazarov will partner with various health-care organizations to adapt some of the existing modules in the program to better fit the needs of health-care staff, which will then be tested, and developed into a toolkit for organizations and the community to implement. 

The R2MR program for the Canadian Forces is offered only in-person, which the researchers aim to change in their version so that they can reach a wider audience. 

"The culture as you can imagine is very different in health-care workers, and so we want to adapt and change the modules to be on an online platform so that individuals could be able to log in remotely," Richardson said. 

Although the modules are still a work in progress, Richardson said they would focus on wellness and the impact that stressors can have on individuals, a reduction of stigma around mental health, along with the continuum of symptoms of burnout versus the need to seek professional help. 

The program will span over 14 months and will initially focus on the frontline health-care workers, but Richardson says they plan to broaden it to include others who work in healthcare settings.

"I hope the modules will provide some assistance in order to help with resilience and awareness of mental health and encourage people to know that if they're suffering, help is available and treatment works," he added.