Center for Global Mental Health Equity, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
Medical Faculty Associates, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Mar 3;20(5):4536. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20054536.
Health care workers in the U.S. are experiencing alarming rates of burnout. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this issue. Psychosocial peer-support programs that address general distress and are tailored to health care systems are needed. A Care for Caregivers (CFC) Program was developed at an American metropolitan university hospital and outpatient health care system. The CFC program trains "Peer Caregivers" and managers and has four components: the identification of colleagues in need of support; psychological first aid; linkage to resources; and the promotion of hope among colleagues experiencing demoralization. Qualitative interviews ( = 18) were conducted with Peer Caregivers and Managers participating in the initial piloting of the program. Results suggest that the CFC program shifts the organizational culture, teaches staff skills for recognizing and supporting others in distress, and supports those staff who are already providing these services informally. Findings suggest that staff distress resulted primarily from external factors and secondarily from internal organizational stressors. External stressors were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the program has promise for addressing staff burnout, other organizational efforts are needed to simultaneously promote staff wellness. Ultimately, psychosocial peer support programs for health care workers are feasible and potentially impactful, but also require other systemic changes within a health care system to improve and sustain staff well-being.
美国的医护人员正经历着令人震惊的职业倦怠率。此外，COVID-19 大流行使这个问题更加严重。需要针对一般困扰并针对医疗保健系统量身定制的社会心理同行支持计划。在美国大都市大学医院和门诊医疗保健系统中开发了一种名为“关怀照顾者”（CFC）的计划。该 CFC 计划培训“同行照顾者”和管理人员，包括四个部分：确定需要支持的同事；心理急救；与资源的联系；以及在士气低落的同事中促进希望。对参与该计划初步试点的同行照顾者和管理人员进行了定性访谈（= 18）。结果表明，CFC 计划改变了组织文化，教授员工识别和支持处于困境中的他人的技能，并支持那些已经非正式提供这些服务的员工。研究结果表明，员工的压力主要来自外部因素，其次是内部组织压力源。外部压力源因 COVID-19 大流行而加剧。尽管该计划有望解决员工倦怠问题，但还需要其他组织努力来同时促进员工的健康。最终，医疗保健工作者的社会心理同行支持计划是可行的，并且具有潜在的影响力，但也需要医疗保健系统内的其他系统变革来改善和维持员工的健康。
