Support for the wellbeing of frontline healthcare workers should be incorporated in health emergency preparedness planning

TL;DR

The paper argues that supporting the wellbeing of healthcare workers should be a key part of health emergency planning to ensure resilient health systems.

Contribution

The paper emphasizes the need to integrate proactive measures for healthcare workers' wellbeing into both routine practices and emergency preparedness.

Findings

Health crises add to existing stresses in health systems, impacting staff wellbeing.

Organizational measures to support staff wellbeing are crucial for system resilience.

Neglecting staff wellbeing risks both individual and organizational outcomes during health emergencies.

Abstract

Health system resilience requires a resilient and well workforce. During health crises, including pandemics and outbreaks of pathogens, frontline healthcare workers can face significant challenges, resulting in personal psychosocial costs for staff members, and organisational consequences for the health systems they work within. Here, we highlight that there is an urgent need to proactively incorporate organisational measures to protect and promote the wellbeing of frontline healthcare staff across all stages of response to health crises. Importantly, this not only involves specific emergency preparedness and planning efforts, but also supporting organisational-level everyday practices that foster staff wellbeing and health system resilience outside of crises.

McNeil et al. discuss the need to proactively protect and promote the wellbeing of frontline healthcare staff within the everyday practices of health organizations and in health emergency planning and response. They highlight how health crises add to the routine stresses facing health systems, explore challenges facing staff, and suggest next steps and potential solutions as well as the potential risks of inaction