Europe UK (Commonwealth Union) – A recent study conducted by the University of Bristol that appeared in PLOS ONE found that an estimated 1 in 10 NHS (National Health Service) healthcare workers had suicidal thoughts during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The media brought attention to the risk of suicide among healthcare workers during the pandemic, following several high-profile cases. To take a deeper look into this issue, researchers from the University of Bristol, King’s College London, and UCL (University College London) conducted a study to investigate the prevalence and occurrence of suicidal thoughts and behavior among healthcare workers in the NHS in England. They also examined the relationship between these thoughts and occupational risk factors.
The research team analyzed data from the NHS CHECK longitudinal online surveys, which were completed by healthcare workers (both clinical and non-clinical), students, and volunteers in 18 NHS Trusts across England during the COVID-19 pandemic. The surveys were conducted between April 2020 and August 2021, with 12,514 participants completing the baseline survey and 7,160 participants providing responses at the 6-month follow-up.
The findings revealed that certain factors significantly contributed to the distress experienced by healthcare staff during the pandemic. These factors included exposure to events that conflicted with their moral values, a lack of confidence in addressing safety concerns and having those concerns adequately addressed, feeling unsupported by managers, and being forced to provide a reduced standard of care. At the second six-month assessment, clinicians who lacked confidence in having their safety concerns addressed were independently associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing suicidal thoughts.
“Our findings show that several modifiable workplace risk factors, such as exposure to events that may have gone against a health worker’s moral code, providing a reduced standard of care, or feeling unsupported by managers all increased the likelihood of suicidal thoughts being reported by healthcare workers,” explained Paul Moran, who is a Professor of Psychiatry from the University of Bristol, Centre for Academic Mental Health and a lead author of the study.
