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Healthcare providers face challenging working conditions, mental health is stigmatized, and even more so in the healthcare industry. Burnout is the most common sign, and mental health needs to be prioritized. According to CDC, “69% of physicians reported experiencing depression and 13% had thoughts of suicide [1].” The challenge is even more severe when there are staffing shortages. A medical messaging app will allow healthcare professionals to connect and break down communication barriers. Establishing social relations is crucial in a healthy working environment. Using a secure medical text app will help healthcare professionals understand each other’s roles better and also helps them connect professionally. Eliminating communication barriers is the most vital priority in creating a seamless and enhanced experience for healthcare professionals.
Mental health is stigmatized and especially difficult to address within healthcare. For hospitals, the most efficient way to address mental health is through an encrypted messaging app that allows administrators to broadcast resources and messages to healthcare providers. Raising awareness and providing resources will enable healthcare providers to feel less alone and help reduce stigma. Working conditions for healthcare providers put mental health at risk, and with COVID-19 pandemic adds new elements of fatigue and stress.
Reducing stigma within healthcare is crucial, and stigma impacts healthcare professionals to seek help and resources. Reducing stigma helps mediate the work environment. Stephanie Knaak et al. reported the impact of stigma within the healthcare industry through their work, “Mental illness-related stigma in healthcare.” Knaak et al. report, “Research consistently demonstrates that healthcare providers tend to hold pessimistic views about the reality and likelihood of recovery, which is experienced as a source of stigma and a barrier to recovery for people seeking help for mental illnesses.2,6,7,12,29” (Knaak et al., p. 112). Healthcare professionals are at higher risk of mental health stigmatization due to the industry and depend on peer support. When there’s judgment and low support, healthcare professionals are more likely to react inwardly, creating over-reliance on self-treatment. The first step to reducing stigmatization for healthcare professionals is to have a social contact approach. The social contact approach is modeling a person-first behavior. Having a person with lived experiences with mental health recovery reduces the pessimistic views healthcare providers hold. The social contact approach can help disconfirm stereotypes and diminish anxiety. Intervention or transformative learning can also help lessen stigmatization. By correcting false beliefs and unconscious biases, healthcare providers may have about mental health. Another would be emphasizing and demonstrating mental health recovery. Hospitals investing in our healthcare messaging app can broadcast gentler messages to staff and allows administrators to understand healthcare providers better in what is needed.
When there’s a staff shortage, mental health is much more challenging to monitor for healthcare professionals. Staff shortages can create unpredictable and longer working hours for healthcare providers and become physically and emotionally exhausted. The stigmatization of healthcare providers not being professional enough due to seeking mental health help is harmful. Judgments and stereotypes will only make healthcare professionals reluctant to seek help. Healthcare professionals’ well-being should be a priority because they’re patients’ first point of contact. Due to the pandemic, there’s much more grief and death exposure. Healthcare providers need advocates for their mental health, and mental health care is vital for everyone and especially necessary for healthcare providers. The caring nature of healthcare professionals is why there are healthcare providers, in the first place, always ready to care for others immediately. However, healthcare professionals need to step into caring for their well-being and mental health. Caring for mental health isn’t shameful and unprofessional. Healthcare providers are not alone with mental illnesses, and having a secure messaging app to connect will allow providers to gain peer support. Below, we will provide mental health resources to jumpstart the conversation!
https://www.7cups.com/
https://www.therapytribe.com/
https://nami.org/Home
