Individual-level interventions for reducing occupational stress in healthcare workers
Department of Health and Social Care
AMC Medical Research B.V.
In the UK, one in ten workers are employed in health and social care. In 2020, 104,000 healthcare workers suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety. This is around half of all ill health among healthcare workers.(1) Financial and non-financial costs are high and quality of care is in jeopardy. Total economic costs are shared between individuals, employers and government/taxpayers. Preventing occupational stress among healthcare workers is therefore a priority.   The review “Preventing occupational stress in healthcare workers” (2015; 41studies) found that cognitive behavioural therapy and mental and physical relaxation may reduce stress more than no intervention. This review has been used in WHO guidance (2) and also has the potential to guide future policy and practice. Its findings are dated and of low certainty, currently a major limitation. Therefore, this review needs to be updated, starting with individual-level interventions. We expect around 20 additional RCTs.   The author team is experienced in conducting and updating Cochrane reviews in a timely manner and involves a representative of the population of interest. The lead author can dedicate working time when there is some funding available.  References/Other: 1 Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (2020) Human health and social work activities statistics in Great Britain 2020. HSE. https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ 2 World Health Organization, Wolf J., Prüss-Ustün, A., Ivanov I., Mugdal S. et al. ( 2018) . Preventing disease through a healthier and safer workplace. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/272980. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
6.6 Psychological and behavioural / ESP