VIDEO: Stress, anxiety and depression on the COVID-19 health frontline

In this first of three webinars, we hear about a survey of health workers and stress, depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

 

In this webinar moderated by Kelly Thompson, Global Program Manager, Women's Health Program at The George Institute for Global Health, we hear about a survey of frontline workers to find out what is needed to build evidence-informed policies to support their wellbeing, specific to their sex and gender.

Dr Naomi Hammond of The George Institute and Royal North Shore Hospital shares some of the findings from the survey, which asked about psychological burden among critical care workers in April 2020. Women reported significantly higher mean scores for anxiety and stress compared to men who responded.

Dr Nhi Nguyen, Clinical Director of Intensive Care NSW at the Agency for Clinical Innovation, talks about her experience at the state emergency response centre, the overwhelming feeling of uncertainty at the beginning of the pandemic, and "the burden of responsibility".

Intensive care nurse and NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association Councillor Ms Wing Besilos also spoke about that heavy burden, particularly among workers with children and extended family, who carry the fear of infecting family members.

Research is now underway to help clinicians and policymakers more rapidly and effectively help some of the most vulnerable members of the community in the response to COVID-19 and future pandemics.

The project brings together expertise from The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW Medicine including the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and UNSW Arts and Social Sciences including the Gendered Violence Research Network.

It is supported by a UNSW Rapid Response Research program. Read more about the project here.

Register for future webinars in this series here.

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