There is a wide range of COVID-19 related resources available to support the personal and professional wellbeing of health care workers and their whānau. They are categorised under the headings below:
- Your own mental health and wellbeing
- Mental health and addiction workers' mental health and wellbeing
- Mental health and wellbeing international perspectives
- Mental health and wellbeing for Māori
- Mental health and wellbeing for Pacific peoples.
Your own mental health and wellbeing
The animated video below describes how reactions to the current COVID-19 situation, like fear and anxiety, are quite normal. It focuses on helping people who may catastrophise, worry or get stressed, by thinking about what is practical worry, which may be within our control, and what is hypothetical worry, which is future-based and more unpredictable and out of our control. It encourages the viewer to think 'Do I invest time in the issue, or do I let it go?'. Rumination and procrastination is touched upon and people are encouraged to think of solutions to problems and to develop an action plan. You can also watch the video on YouTube.
'Like all of my colleagues these days, almost all of my visits with outpatients are conducted by telephone or video. Although these visits lack the intimacy of face-to-face visits, patients have been extremely appreciative, thanking me for thinking of them and for taking time from my busy day to connect with them. A few moments into the visit, they almost always ask how I am doing, and it is clear that this is more than just a courtesy. They genuinely want to know about my health and, I suspect, are curious about my role in the fight against the pandemic. I acknowledge that I am doing well, and they thank me profusely for being part of the health care team that is doing so much for those stricken with the virus. Hearing those words, the guilt sneaks in. Although I have cared for patients in the hospital who have been tested, have interacted with nurses and staff who were later diagnosed, and have had some patients hospitalized with COVID-19, I have never had an in-person visit with a patient infected with the virus'.
All Right? is a health-promoting social marketing campaign based in Christchurch. The campaign aims to normalise conversations around wellbeing and mental health: https://www.allright.org.nz/
This website, co-funded by NHS England, has been designed by a group of people who want to help anyone who is struggling with the very challenging situation we are all in, to feel a bit calmer and find new ways to help them cope: https://wellbeingandcoping.net/#/
Information is available on sleep and immunity; sleep and mental health; sleep for older adults; children’s sleep (tips for parents and tips for children); and general sleep and circadian health. Each information sheet is also available as a downloadable PDF: https://www.sleepwake.ac.nz/what-we-do/covid-19-resources/
This Ministry of Health webpage provides links to multiple resources about violence prevention: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventative-health-wellness/family-violence
These infographics (1.3MB, pdf) describe stress, coping and resilience for health care workers. The following parties were involved in their development: Scottish quality and safety fellows in partnership with SQS Fellowship, Open Change, Edinburgh University, EC4H and NHS Scotland.
A resource for the public, managers and workers which includes tips, answers to common questions and further reading: https://mentalhealth.org.nz/getting-through-together
This article from equip describes how your mental health may be affected by infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19 and how to take care of your mental wellbeing during these challenging times.
Ngā Wai a Te Tui Māori and Indigenous Resource centre are partnering with New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse to provide information on preventing and responding to family, whānau and sexual violence during COVID-19: https://nzfvc.org.nz/covid-19/preventing-responding-violence-covid-19
The Safe Bubble website provides contact details for agencies that provide help for people experiencing family violence or abuse: https://safebubble.org.nz/
This blog posts explores the field of neuroscience and behavioural conditioning to show how we can change the way we evaluate our emotions and behaviours and become more positive in the face of adversity: https://www.wellnessandpurpose.com/the-power-of-your-thoughts-through-life-and-tough-times/
Positive mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic (Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust) (2020)
The animated video below describes how reactions to the current COVID-19 situation, like fear and anxiety, are quite normal. It focuses on helping people who may catastrophise, worry or get stressed, by thinking about what is practical worry, which may be within our control, and what is hypothetical worry, which is future-based and more unpredictable and out of our control. It encourages the viewer to think 'Do I invest time in the issue, or do I let it go?'. Rumination and procrastination is touched upon and people are encouraged to think of solutions to problems and to develop an action plan. You can also watch the video on YouTube.
Sideline Guilt (Journal article) (2020)
'Like all of my colleagues these days, almost all of my visits with outpatients are conducted by telephone or video. Although these visits lack the intimacy of face-to-face visits, patients have been extremely appreciative, thanking me for thinking of them and for taking time from my busy day to connect with them. A few moments into the visit, they almost always ask how I am doing, and it is clear that this is more than just a courtesy. They genuinely want to know about my health and, I suspect, are curious about my role in the fight against the pandemic. I acknowledge that I am doing well, and they thank me profusely for being part of the health care team that is doing so much for those stricken with the virus. Hearing those words, the guilt sneaks in. Although I have cared for patients in the hospital who have been tested, have interacted with nurses and staff who were later diagnosed, and have had some patients hospitalized with COVID-19, I have never had an in-person visit with a patient infected with the virus'.
All Right?
All Right? is a health-promoting social marketing campaign based in Christchurch. The campaign aims to normalise conversations around wellbeing and mental health: https://www.allright.org.nz/
Building your wellbeing and helping you cope (NHS England)
This website, co-funded by NHS England, has been designed by a group of people who want to help anyone who is struggling with the very challenging situation we are all in, to feel a bit calmer and find new ways to help them cope: https://wellbeingandcoping.net/#/
COVID-19 resources - sleep resources (Sleep-Wake Research Centre)
Information is available on sleep and immunity; sleep and mental health; sleep for older adults; children’s sleep (tips for parents and tips for children); and general sleep and circadian health. Each information sheet is also available as a downloadable PDF: https://www.sleepwake.ac.nz/what-we-do/covid-19-resources/
Family violence prevention (Ministry of Health)
This Ministry of Health webpage provides links to multiple resources about violence prevention: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventative-health-wellness/family-violence
Infographic: Stress, coping and resilience for health care workers (NHS Scotland)
These infographics (1.3MB, pdf) describe stress, coping and resilience for health care workers. The following parties were involved in their development: Scottish quality and safety fellows in partnership with SQS Fellowship, Open Change, Edinburgh University, EC4H and NHS Scotland.
Looking after mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19 (Mental Health Foundation)
A resource for the public, managers and workers which includes tips, answers to common questions and further reading: https://mentalhealth.org.nz/getting-through-together
Mental health and wellbeing support (151KB, pdf) (Equip)
This article from equip describes how your mental health may be affected by infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19 and how to take care of your mental wellbeing during these challenging times.
Preventing and responding to family, whānau and sexual violence during COVID-19 (New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse)
Ngā Wai a Te Tui Māori and Indigenous Resource centre are partnering with New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse to provide information on preventing and responding to family, whānau and sexual violence during COVID-19: https://nzfvc.org.nz/covid-19/preventing-responding-violence-covid-19
Safe Bubble (New Zealand Government)
The Safe Bubble website provides contact details for agencies that provide help for people experiencing family violence or abuse: https://safebubble.org.nz/
The power of your thoughts through life and tough times (Wellness and Purpose)
This blog posts explores the field of neuroscience and behavioural conditioning to show how we can change the way we evaluate our emotions and behaviours and become more positive in the face of adversity: https://www.wellnessandpurpose.com/the-power-of-your-thoughts-through-life-and-tough-times/
Mental health and addiction workers' mental health and wellbeing
A resource guide to support leaders with conversations and actions to promote staff wellbeing and joy in work during and after COVID-19. Reprinted from www.IHI.org with permission of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, ©2020. Download the guide here (582KB, pdf).
COVID-19 is a new disease, there is little data on the mental health implications of the condition. However, two previous coronavirus outbreaks in recent history – SARS and MERS – have been well-studied and may offer insights: https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/high-rates-of-delirium-persistent-fatigue-and-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-were-common-after-severe-infection-in-previous-coronavirus-outbreaks/
This commentary paper discusses experiences of moral injury in relation to providing health care through the COVID-19 pandemic surge: https://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/4/4/224
An animated video that goes through the acronym FACE COVID in a helpful way. You can also watch the video on YouTube.
A guide from the British Psychological Society for leaders and managers of health care services who will need to consider the wellbeing needs of all health care staff (clinical and non-clinical) as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. It offers practical recommendations for how to respond at individual, management and organisational level involving the appropriate utilisation of expertise within their practitioner psychologist and mental health professionals and anticipates the psychological reactions over time, and what people may need to recover psychologically: https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/www.bps.org.uk/files/News/News%20-%20Files/Psychological%20needs%20of%20healthcare%20staff.pdf
This practical guide to responding to staff welfare and wellbeing has been prepared by Capital & Coast, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs). You can view the pdf here (1.7MB, pdf).
This article about supporting the emotional wellbeing of health care workers is based on Maslow's heirarchy of needs: protection, basic daily needs, crisis, leadership and communication, support for mental and emotional wellbeing, ethical concerns, promoting wellness, gratitude: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2516043520931971
This podcast provides information about how human factors affect teams and safety during COVID-19. A wide range of topics are covered from PPE to simulation: https://www.pslhub.org/learn/coronavirus-covid19/data-and-statistics/understanding-how-human-factors-affect-teams-and-safety-during-covid-19-r2019/
Practical steps to improve staff wellbeing in New Zealand district health board environments. You can view this resource here (2.9MB, pdf).
A tookit produced by NHS Employers to encourage staff wellbeing conversations in the workplace: https://www.nhsemployers.org/howareyoufeelingnhs
A learning activity relevant to professional competencies related to your responsibilities for meeting professional and ethical standards and relationship responsibilities with patients/clients and colleagues: https://healthcentral.nz/personal-resilience-developing-and-drawing-on-your-own-resources/
A range of resources from the Clinical Human Factors Group including guidelines and podcasts for staff working under pressure: https://chfg.org/
A New Zealand-based website with tools and resources related to workplace wellbeing for the health sector workforce. It contains some links to information relating to wellbeing and COVID-19: https://kahuioranga.health.nz/
Conversation and action guide to support staff wellbeing and joy in work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) (2020)
A resource guide to support leaders with conversations and actions to promote staff wellbeing and joy in work during and after COVID-19. Reprinted from www.IHI.org with permission of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, ©2020. Download the guide here (582KB, pdf).
Mental health consequences of severe COVID-19 illness (UK National Institute for Health Research) (2020)
COVID-19 is a new disease, there is little data on the mental health implications of the condition. However, two previous coronavirus outbreaks in recent history – SARS and MERS – have been well-studied and may offer insights: https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/high-rates-of-delirium-persistent-fatigue-and-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-were-common-after-severe-infection-in-previous-coronavirus-outbreaks/
Moral injury and the COVID-19 pandemic: reframing what it is, who it affects and how care leaders can manage it (2020)
This commentary paper discusses experiences of moral injury in relation to providing health care through the COVID-19 pandemic surge: https://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/4/4/224
Practical steps for responding effectively to the Coronavirus (Dr Russ Harris) (2020)
An animated video that goes through the acronym FACE COVID in a helpful way. You can also watch the video on YouTube.
Psychological needs of health care staff as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic (British Psychological Society) (2020)
A guide from the British Psychological Society for leaders and managers of health care services who will need to consider the wellbeing needs of all health care staff (clinical and non-clinical) as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. It offers practical recommendations for how to respond at individual, management and organisational level involving the appropriate utilisation of expertise within their practitioner psychologist and mental health professionals and anticipates the psychological reactions over time, and what people may need to recover psychologically: https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/www.bps.org.uk/files/News/News%20-%20Files/Psychological%20needs%20of%20healthcare%20staff.pdf
Staff welfare and wellbeing – readiness response and recovery – part 2 (3DHBs) (2020)
This practical guide to responding to staff welfare and wellbeing has been prepared by Capital & Coast, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs). You can view the pdf here (1.7MB, pdf).
Supporting the emotional wellbeing of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic (Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management) (2020)
This article about supporting the emotional wellbeing of health care workers is based on Maslow's heirarchy of needs: protection, basic daily needs, crisis, leadership and communication, support for mental and emotional wellbeing, ethical concerns, promoting wellness, gratitude: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2516043520931971
Understanding how human factors affect teams and safety during COVID-19 – podcast (Patient Safety Learning) (2020)
This podcast provides information about how human factors affect teams and safety during COVID-19. A wide range of topics are covered from PPE to simulation: https://www.pslhub.org/learn/coronavirus-covid19/data-and-statistics/understanding-how-human-factors-affect-teams-and-safety-during-covid-19-r2019/
Welfare and wellbeing resource suite – phase 2 (3DHBs) (2020)
Practical steps to improve staff wellbeing in New Zealand district health board environments. You can view this resource here (2.9MB, pdf).
How are you feeling today NHS? Toolkit (NHS Employers) (2019)
A tookit produced by NHS Employers to encourage staff wellbeing conversations in the workplace: https://www.nhsemployers.org/howareyoufeelingnhs
Personal resilience: developing and drawing on your own resources (Health Central) (2019)
A learning activity relevant to professional competencies related to your responsibilities for meeting professional and ethical standards and relationship responsibilities with patients/clients and colleagues: https://healthcentral.nz/personal-resilience-developing-and-drawing-on-your-own-resources/
Human factors and working under pressure (Clinical Human Factors Group)
A range of resources from the Clinical Human Factors Group including guidelines and podcasts for staff working under pressure: https://chfg.org/
Leading for wellbeing webinar series (Wellbeing for Health Kāhui Oranga)
A New Zealand-based website with tools and resources related to workplace wellbeing for the health sector workforce. It contains some links to information relating to wellbeing and COVID-19: https://kahuioranga.health.nz/
Mental health and wellbeing international perspectives
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment where many determinants of poor mental health are exacerbated. This study aimed to quantify the impact of the pandemic on the prevalence and burden of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders globally in 2020: https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2821%2902143-7
A short article which describes the responses of different countries regarding tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for ongoing tobacco cessation: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30236-X/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email
A really useful study from Queensland Australia which analyses suicide mortality data to show that there has not been an increase in suicides, in this State, due to the restrictions related to the outbreak of COVID-19: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30435-1/fulltext
This report from the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership and International Initiative for Disability Leadership contains a range of resources on how countries are supporting health care staff wellbeing in the COVID-19 environment: https://www.iimhl.com/files/docs/IIMHL-Updates/20200414.pdf
This portal is designed to bring together resources to help health care workers cope with COVID-19 and work in a world that is increasingly complex. View and download resources across a range of topics relevant to COVID-19 and find out more about how Te Pou is adapting their training as we move into online workshops, webinars, and remote training: https://www.tepou.co.nz/initiatives/covid-19
Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (The Lancet) (2021)
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment where many determinants of poor mental health are exacerbated. This study aimed to quantify the impact of the pandemic on the prevalence and burden of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders globally in 2020: https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2821%2902143-7
COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity for tobacco use cessation (The Lancet) (2020)
A short article which describes the responses of different countries regarding tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for ongoing tobacco cessation: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30236-X/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email
Real-time suicide mortality data from police reports in Queensland, Australia, during the COVID-19 pandemic: an interrupted time-series analysis (The Lancet) (2020)
A really useful study from Queensland Australia which analyses suicide mortality data to show that there has not been an increase in suicides, in this State, due to the restrictions related to the outbreak of COVID-19: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30435-1/fulltext
Supporting frontline and mental health and addiction staff in the COVID-19 environment (International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership and International Initiative for Disability Leadership) (2020)
This report from the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership and International Initiative for Disability Leadership contains a range of resources on how countries are supporting health care staff wellbeing in the COVID-19 environment: https://www.iimhl.com/files/docs/IIMHL-Updates/20200414.pdf
COVID-19 portal (Te Pou o te Whakaaro Nui)
This portal is designed to bring together resources to help health care workers cope with COVID-19 and work in a world that is increasingly complex. View and download resources across a range of topics relevant to COVID-19 and find out more about how Te Pou is adapting their training as we move into online workshops, webinars, and remote training: https://www.tepou.co.nz/initiatives/covid-19
Mental health and wellbeing for Māori
Guidance of the New Zealand Māori Council | Te Kaunihera Māori o Aotearoa about COVID-19, for Māori and Māori communities and organisations: https://www.maorieverywhere.com/covid19
The national Māori pandemic group has updated their website with key messages and resources for Māori, developed by Māori experts. COVID-19 advice for Māori provides practical advice and guidance that individuals, Māori health practitioners, marae, hapu and iwi can use to keep their whānau safe: https://www.uruta.maori.nz/
COVID-19 Guidance for Māori and Māori Communities / Organisations (New Zealand Māori Council)
Guidance of the New Zealand Māori Council | Te Kaunihera Māori o Aotearoa about COVID-19, for Māori and Māori communities and organisations: https://www.maorieverywhere.com/covid19
Guiding Māori through the COVID-19 pandemic (Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā)
The national Māori pandemic group has updated their website with key messages and resources for Māori, developed by Māori experts. COVID-19 advice for Māori provides practical advice and guidance that individuals, Māori health practitioners, marae, hapu and iwi can use to keep their whānau safe: https://www.uruta.maori.nz/
Mental health and wellbeing for Pacific peoples
The Ministry for Pacific Peoples website provides up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Pacific languages: https://www.mpp.govt.nz/covid-19/
Short videos from the Tagata Pasifika current affairs show, providing updates for Pacific communities in New Zealand: https://tpplus.co.nz/
COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) updates (Ministry for Pacific Peoples) (2021)
The Ministry for Pacific Peoples website provides up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Pacific languages: https://www.mpp.govt.nz/covid-19/
Updates for the Pacific communities in NZ (Tagata Pasifika)
Short videos from the Tagata Pasifika current affairs show, providing updates for Pacific communities in New Zealand: https://tpplus.co.nz/
Last updated: 25th February, 2022
