American Heart Association Reports: Pandemic Puts Health Care Workers' Mental Health on the Line
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Health care workers like doctors and nurses are feeling the pressure to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in the face of mounting critical issues, causing significant strain on their mental health. The American Heart Association (AHA) shared some of their stories and worries.
AHA News: Pandemic Puts Health Care Workers' Mental Health on the Line
TUESDAY, April 7, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Doctors and nurses are trained to deal with life-and-death situations, to be calm in the face of crisis. But whether it's in hard-hit New York or places where COVID-19 has yet to surge, medical workers say the pandemic is straining their mental health like nothing before.
"The stress is probably 100 times what you could have imagined it was in the past," said Judy Davidson, a nurse scientist at University of California, San Diego Health. Davidson, whose research shows nurses were at higher risk for suicide than the general population even before the coronavirus struck, said delivering psychological support to health care workers will be as crucial as providing protective gear.
Stories from some of those on the front lines make clear why.