Sask. health-care workers experiencing worsening mental health as pandemic goes on: study
More than 30 per cent of those experiencing stress have considered leaving their jobs
As the province braces for the latest COVID-19 variant of concern, which is expected to cause a rapid increase in the number of cases, new survey results from the University of Regina show that health-care workers are increasingly struggling with mental health issues.
Sean Tucker, the associate professor of human resource management at the University of Regina, who led the research, sent surveys to about 3,000 unionized health-care workers last month and in May 2020. He found that more people are struggling now.
About 23 per cent of respondents said they were likely struggling with mental health concerns in November, compared with 12 per cent in May 2020.
"It's a red flag that the workers within the system are stressed, and without workers who are well, [they're] not able to provide as high quality care or as much care as there is demand," Tucker said.
Health-care worker shortage
Tucker, who specialises in occupational health and safety, led the initiative alongside research associate Jessica Antonini, the Saskatchewan Health Authority and other participating unions.
The province is grappling with a health-care worker shortage, and unions have called for better supports for burned out workers and a more fulsome recruitment and retention strategy as COVID-19 rages on and a fifth wave looms.
One link became very clear in the most recent survey, Tucker said.
"They drew a connection between being short staffed and how that can impact the quality of patient care, but also on their own mental health," he said.
The results are alarming and the province may well be underestimating the amount of distress, Tucker said, despite the survey being a small snapshot of health-care workers in the province. People in distress might be less inclined to answer questions like this, he noted.
A new question in the most recent survey was about how many workers have had thoughts of reducing hours or quitting their jobs. Around 36 per cent said they had high distress scores have thought about quitting.
With the health-care system in a perilous position, even a small number of staff quitting would be troubling but, Tucker said, it's important to put that into context, knowing that not everyone who has those thoughts will actually leave their jobs.
"Let's put it this way, if even five or 10 per cent of staff go that route when it's already in a precarious situation, then it becomes like a vicious circle where you get the remaining workers working more, short," he said.
There are limitations in the survey that were readily acknowledged by Tucker. Out of tens of thousands of unionized workers, the sample sizes for the May 2020 survey were 3,719 and 3,109 for the November 2021 survey.
No questions related to gender, age, or occupation were asked and responses were not tracked across time.
Tucker said he has been open to sharing his data with the ministry and reached out to government, but to date has not heard back from them.