Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP) Prof Rahul Jain was recently published in the International Journal of Occupational Safety & Health (IJOSH).
Titled Mental Health and Well-being of Healthcare Professionals Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada, Jain’s article delves into the mental health impacts of the increased risks Canadian health care professionals confronted over the course of the pandemic.
“I hope readers will find this article, which highlights key themes and identifies critical gaps in the existing literature, informative and enlightening,” he said of the article, which was co-written by Karun Kishor Karki (University of the Fraser Valley), Anjelica Shrestha (McMaster University), and Riham Al-Saadi (University of Windsor).
“It should germinate ideas about further research on supporting the emotional, mental, and psychological well-being of (Health Care Professionals) – our health warriors. Readers will find a detailed methodology, thematic discussion, and concluding insights pointing to, for example, the need for critical social justice research.”
Data for the article was gathered via online searches conducted through multiple databases, including AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine), Embase, Global Health, Ovid Healthstar, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, for the period between March 2020 and May 2023.
Through a thematic analysis of 22 studies, Jain said the following main themes were identified:
1. Health care professionals face (HCPs) face diverse mental health impacts during the pandemic
2. HCPs are dissatisfied with organizational approaches to COVID-19
3. HCPs express concerns about personal well-being and the safety of others during the pandemic
“The crux of the conclusion is the need for HCPs to cope effectively with the stressors for their own, their patients’, and their families’ well-being, which requires addressing systemic and structural inequities and creating an environment that promotes the well-being and resilience of HCPs,” he explained.
In addition to the IJOSH article, Jain – for whom the subject of mental health is a prominent area of research interest – has also served as the principal investigator of a completed research project titled Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on British Columbia’s (BC) Indigenous Health Care Workers: Recommendations for Medium-term Impact Management.
To learn more about that project, which was supported by the Interior University Research Coalition (IURC) Ministry of Health (MoH) Research Grant, go to https://www.dpublication.com/abstract-of-7th-icarss/4-iss7-5841/
